


The Article

by eiriyuki



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Halloween Costumes, Locker room antics, M/M, Post-Time Skip, haikyuu manga, halloween party, some angst but thats just life baby, this one is about the Yearning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:40:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 46,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27081334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eiriyuki/pseuds/eiriyuki
Summary: Time in Rio has cleared Hinata's head of his pointless crush on his straight best friend.Yet, when an article suddenly surfaces debating the heterosexuality of one Kageyama Tobio... Well, let's just say that some hyper-fixations never truly disappear.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Tsukishima Kei/Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 52
Kudos: 282
Collections: Haikyuu!! Fics





	1. Spiked

**Author's Note:**

> BIG thanks to Mimmi (Ouyama-Chan) for always being victim to my creative misery. Honestly, every fic I write is for you.

For Hinata Shouyou, there have been many chapters in the life he has led so far. Despite this, only a few boxes are needed to pack away the tiny room he has called “home” for the past two years. 

His Rio chapter is finally coming to an end, and it brings an inexplicable sadness to him. He thinks of the friends he has made and the mentors he will miss when he flies back home to Japan. The sadness is short-lived when he remembers the friends and family he will be returning to in just a few short days. 

His reminiscing is disrupted by his ringtone signaling a phone call in his pocket. He reaches for it and a smile spreads across his face as he reads the name displayed on the screen. 

_ Yachi Hitoka would like to facetime…  _

With a soft  _ click! _ the call is connected, and Hinata’s face is minimized to the bottom right of the screen. Yachi’s face looks flushed as it appears in front of him, her eyes as wide and full of worry as always. 

“Hi, Yachi!” Hinata greets as he flops onto his bed, causing his camera view to shake. 

Yachi seems to be in a public street, hiding behind a pillar to stay out of people’s way. Her voice is quick paced as she blurts out her words. “Hey, how are you? Are you okay? I called as soon as I saw.” 

“I’m… fine? Saw what?” 

“Check any volleyball tabloid, I’m sure you’ll see what I’m talking about.” Yachi has one hand in front of her mouth, nearly muffling her words. 

Hinata minimizes the call into the background and clicks on his web browser. The sound of a bustling street still makes its way through his speakers. He decides to pull up the source Yachi had most likely seen whatever has her so shaken, typing in the japanese web address. 

There, the first thing he sees is a blown up picture of Kageyama Tobio leaning into another man’s ear with a hand on his shoulder. The dingy lighting of whatever drinking establishment the photo had been taken at diminishes the expression on his face, but Hinata can just barely make out the flirtatious curl of his lip. 

Above the photo in print block letters, the article title reads: Kageyama Tobio Spotted at Well-Known Gay Hot Spot. 

The picture riles up a spectrum of emotions inside Hinata; jealousy, anger, sadness, confusion, lust.

“Hinata, are you still there?” Yachi asks, sincerely concerned. 

“Yeah… Yachi, I gotta go.” 

Hinata swipes away the call as a faint “wait…” comes from the other end. 

In a free fall backwards, his back lands roughly on the spring mattress with his arms flopped out like a ragdoll. He stares at the glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling, making a mental reminder to take those down before he leaves. 

There’s a restlessness stirring in his blood, but he is weighted down by the recurring image of Kageyama flirting with another man. A twist to the left, and he grabs onto his pillow to squeeze against his chest. He touches his ear as his thoughts drift toward Kageyama’s lips, imagining the feeling of his hot breath. A sudden warmth spreads from his nose and into his ears, chasing away the chill that the fantasy had brought him. 

All these years of thinking Kageyama was straight was hard enough on Hinata, but now? Now the only reason he can think of for Kageyama not wanting him is  _ him _ . 

_ What’s wrong with me? _

He tries to get over it, but shoving his face into his pillow and screaming does nothing to help. Curled into a ball, he brings his phone up close to his face as he brings up the article again. His eyes trace the shape of every edge of skin between the small gap of distance between the two men. The mystery man’s face is turned away from the camera, but the back of his jaw is definable as his chin is tilted up slightly in reaction. 

Typically not a fan of reading more than an article title and looking at the picture, Hinata finds himself invested in the blocks of words that follow the photo. 

_ An eyewitness account testified that Kageyama Tobio was seen leaving the bar, formally known as Spiked, with the man seen in the photo. An interview with the bar owner was denied, claiming customer confidentiality is one of their top services. The establishment has not been open for long, and there is little info on what ties the genius setter has with the location.  _

Hinata has had enough experience to know what happens after a seemingly innocent exchange like the one pictured, followed by leaving together. His imagination is eating away at him despite how hard he tries to fight the images away. 

He reflects on images from his own experiences, mirroring them with the movements his thoughts are constructing with Kageyama. Would he have touched him differently? How does he touch the man-with-no-face in the photo? 

Shaking his head, he chases his thoughts away from the faceless man and back to Kageyama. The familiar obsessive fire is growing within him again, as instantly as it took to first glance at the photo. After spending such a long time trying to get over Kageyama, he feels a rush of rebellion flooding through him with every mental caress. 

He considers what he would have done if he had known Kageyama was like him, and if there was a possibility… No, he never showed any signs of that. 

Logically, Hinata knows it is ultimately his fault for never confessing or making a move of his own toward Kageyama. Emotionally, he knows he was just scared of losing him entirely. 

Even if he could never be with Kageyama in the way he wanted, he would still have a place in his heart as his rival. He’s the reason Hinata has worked so hard to get to the level he is at now. 

Even still, Hinata had been  _ such a virgin _ even up until after they parted ways to pursue their own paths to victory. Kageyama would have made fun of his inexperience somehow, but Hinata has gained enough since then to have some confidence in the subject. 

_ Maybe, maybe, maybe… _

The thought ricochets around in his brain like a pinball machine.  _ Maybe. _

The sudden featherweight feeling this brings to his chest sends him bolting forward with a determined grin across his face. Leaving a half-packed box haphazardly lying on the floor, he grabs his volleyball and dashes through the small shared apartment. 

<<Onde você vai?>> _ Where are you going? _ Pedro inquires, watching as Hinata hurries to put on his shoes. 

<<A praia!>> _ The beach! _

Pedro’s confusion can be credited to the fact that Hinata had just come back from the beach, announcing that he was finally going to finish packing, less than half an hour ago. 

One more invigorating bike ride down to the shore wouldn’t hurt anyone, and he’d be back before sunfall to fulfill his packing duties. The moist tropical air envelopes his skin, reminiscing in the feeling before it’s taken from him. 

Within one tender step onto the sand, Hinata instantly runs into eager players looking to join up with him. It’s a stark difference from when he started playing on this beach two years ago. Since then, Hinata had even seen some people ditch their teammate for an opportunity to play with him. This filled him with pride, but also sympathy for whoever was left behind. 

The man that he joins today is quick on his feet, and good in the air. In the midst of their match, Hinata notices a lingering look from his random partner. This, and the added curl of an inviting smirk gives Hinata the impression he’d been meant to receive. 

So maybe he’d be back by sunrise to finish packing, that’s not too much of a difference. Besides, if Kageyama is allowed to go out and have fun with insignificant men with strong jawlines, so is Hinata. 

  
  


~*~

Using one hand to rub at the sleepiness in his eyes, and the other to drag along his carryon, Hinata exits the airplane. He follows the strangers’ feet in front of him through the narrow jetway, finally looking up and around when he exits to take in the Sendai Airport he finds himself in. 

It had been a while since he’d seen this many fellow Japanese people in one place, and he feels the immediate comforts of home set in. 

It’s not long after he makes his way through baggage claim that he finds his welcoming committee waiting to pick him up. 

A white poster board sprinkled with a plethora of glitter and stickers reads in bright multi-colored letters, “Welcome Home, Sho!!!” 

The starry-eyed pre-teen girl holding it is none other than his younger sister Natsu, standing vigilantly at the ready next to their mother. As soon as her eyes lock on his, her mouth springs wide open, revealing a few missing teeth. 

“THERE HE IS!” The shout echoes, even in the crowded airport lobby. 

The group around her look toward her line of vision. For the most part, excluding Tsukishima, the group erupts into an excited clamor. Hinata does an immediate scan of the small gathering, his nerves on an unnecessary edge. His mom, Natsu, Yachi, Yamaguchi, and even Tsukishima are standing in a row, awaiting his return. He searches once more, feeling as if he had missed someone. 

Natsu detaches herself from the group and races to meet Hinata in the middle. He drops his luggage as she drops her sign, both colliding in an amorous sibling reunion. 

“Sho! Look!” Natsu opens her mouth, pointing at the gaps in her grin. 

Before he gets the chance to comment, she takes a step back and examines the distance between them with a serious expression. Placing her hand on top of her head, she measures the difference in their current height. “Sho! I’m almost as tall as you!” 

The rest of his friends and family have made their way to the Hinata siblings. 

“You’ll outgrow him for sure,” Tsukishima says from the side. 

“Awesome,” Natsu replies with a breath, a quick and sharp whistle chiming through her teeth. 

Hinata is encircled in a group hug, a delighted feeling floating in his chest. 

“I can’t believe you guys are all here,” he says with a grin.  _ Except Kageyama,  _ he thinks to himself. 

“I was forced to be here,” Tsukishima says with disinterest. He smirks slightly as he gives Hinata a pat on the head. 

“Tsukki totally missed you, he’s lying,” Yamaguchi says as he elbows Tsukishima in the side. 

“He even cried about it once,” Yachi adds with a grin, poking him in his other side with her index finger. 

Tsukishima’s face returns to its normal serenity, presumably unfazed by their banter. 

“I’m so glad you’re home, Shoyo, I kept your room just like you left it.” Hinata’s mother comes in for an extra hug, filling his nose with the familiar scent of her perfume. 

“Thanks, mom, I missed you guys.” 

“Here, let me help you,” Yamaguchi says as he picks up some of the luggage that was dropped on the floor. 

“Oh, thanks…”

As they start to make their exit, Yachi lingers behind to keep stride with Hinata. In a gentle voice, she comments, “I invited him… But he didn’t answer my text. I’m sure he’s just, like, tied up with stuff, y’know?”

“Yeah… I’m sure he’s… busy.” 

Yachi gives him a pained look, seeming even more heartbroken than him. 

“Sho! Sho!” Natsu cuts in, running back after realizing she’d left him behind. “Tsukki-kun said he’d teach me volleyball moves!” 

She grabs her brother’s hand tightly, walking alongside him. 

“What?! Why not me?!” Hinata’s voice is broken up with shock. 

“Pfft, Tsukki-kun told me your moves aren’t as cool.” 

“That’s a  _ lie! _ ” Hinata’s face has puffed up with angered disbelief. His face remains red as he sputters, “I’ve been away for two whole years  _ training _ . Like a  _ ninja!  _ Or a  _ samurai! _ I am  _ so much cooler than Tsukishima _ .”

Natsu cackles maniacally, bending forward as she grins from ear-to-ear. “He also told me that would make you really, really mad. Don’t worry, Onii-san, I want  _ you _ to teach me how to be friends with the ball.”

With Natsu still clinging to his arm, he feels the relief loosen his shoulders. “Do you want to go play right now?” 

“Yes!” She immediately rips from his side, zipping ahead of him while shouting, “Tsukki-kun! Tsukki-kun! Let’s go play volleyball  _ right now! _ ”

Hinata watches as Tsukishima turns and looks down at her, a tired expression changing into a smile and a head nod. 

“Wow, Tsukishima has really changed,” Hinata notes, looking over to Yachi. 

She has an endearing smile on her face as she says, “He just gets that way with kids. It’s so freaking adorable! He’s still the same old Tsukishima, though. I don’t know why I said ‘though,’ he’s still adorable either way- I mean, that’s not— anyway, how’re you, Sho-kun?” 

Her rambling has left her a little breathless. Hinata catches most of the words, but not all of them; his thoughts are clouded with incessant buzzing over Kageyama’s absence. The tail end of her word vomit is clear. 

“I’m great, Yachi!” He gives her an authenticized smile as he steps out the doors into the Japanese air. 

It’s a bit chillier than he had gotten used to, the weather working its way to shifting into Autumn. The shorts he wore to board the plane in Rio are leaving his legs with goosebumps. He takes a deep breath in, closing his eyes as he does so, and he feels the nostalgia rush into him. 

_ Home.  _

~*~

It’s around 8 PM when Hinata is kicking around his old bedroom at an antsy pace. He’s surrounded by posters of various men in different volleyball uniforms. Some are mid-jump and preparing for a spike, others are just smiling down at him with handsome faces. 

He pulls his chair out from his desk to sit in it. Leaning back, he watches the ceiling swirl as he spins around using his feet. This only sloshes around his anxiety more, like an emotional blender. 

Hopping back onto his feet, he feels the rush of dizziness take him over. His balance is easily retained, thanks to his well-trained core. He fishes for his phone to do a quick Google search. 

Searching for “Spiked” comes up with ambiguous results, so he elaborates his key words. 

_ Spiked gay bar sendai _

The first image that pops up is the candid photo of Kageyama flirting with another man. A jolt of jealousy runs through Hinata as he sees this again. Scrolling down the main results page just slightly, he finds an address and a list of business hours. If he leaves on his bike now, he’ll get there about twenty minutes after it opens. 

He considers the pros and cons, already knowing the answer regardless of how the list turns out. It’s at least a 40 minute bike ride, which is nothing. Pro. He might run into somebody on the way there. Con. He’s not as famous as Kageyama in Japan, so he probably won’t be recognized. Pro. He might see Kageyama there. Con? Pro? It’s a mixed bag, but it’s also the only reason he wants to go. 

He is already fluffing his hair in the mirror and making his way to the front door as he makes his meaningless mental list. He’s in the midst of putting his shoes on when his mother pokes her head around the corner. He had forgotten about her in his pros and cons list. Explaining where he’s going to his mother? Con. 

“Where are you going?” She asks gently. 

“To a friend’s house,” he lies. A twinge in his chest reminds him how much he hates lying to her. 

“Should I expect you back tonight?” There’s an implied wisdom in her tone, and it catches Hinata off guard. 

“Uh… I’m not sure.” He hesitates in his reply, gauging her reaction. 

“Alright, sweetie. Be safe.” She retreats back around the corner without a fuss, leaving Hinata in a state of light shock. 

He had forgotten that while he was away he had also grown into an adult, and it seems his mother respected that. He steps outside with a new air of confidence seeping in as he unchains his trusty, and rusty, old bike. 

  
  


The bike ride is refreshing, leaving Hinata’s blood racing with adrenaline. The GPS voice flows through his headphones as it guides him to his destination, stopping him in front of an older looking building with newer looking signs. 

The front door is open with a man sitting post there, fiddling with a flashlight. A yellow light dimmed by dark wood seeps out of the door into the alleyway along with amorous chatter and music. 

Looking around, he searches for a place to chain his bike but comes up empty. He winds up leaning it against a wall behind a dumpster before walking up to the bouncer at the door. 

“ID?” He asks, extending his hand. 

Hinata pulls his old ID out, hoping it hasn't expired. Even still, the 1996 birth year gives him the clearance to go through the door. The drinking age in Rio is only 18, so he had been in a few bars before; but never to a bar in Japan. 

Walking into the building, a buzzing excitement hits his skin as he sees two men standing at a tall table; stroking each other’s forearms, they gaze longingly into each other’s eyes. He had been to bars like this in Rio, but never once did he think places like this existed in Japan; maybe in Tokyo, but not this close to home. His prior Google search suggested a few other gay bars in the vicinity as well. But this one, with all the volleyball memorabilia and posters scattered across the wall, felt almost like a teenage wet dream of his. 

Continuing his way into the bar, he comes face-to-face with the last person he expected to find at a place like this. His eyes widen in panic as the other man’s face brightens with friendly recognition. 

“ _ My man! _ ” Tanaka Ryunosuke bellows at the sight of him. He is holding three pints of beer in his hands with careful balance. “I didn’t know you were back in Japan!” 

Hinata’s social media presence had been lacking since he had seen the article about Kageyama and this bar; he had even forgotten to post about his return. 

“Yeah, I got back yesterday… What are you… doing here?” Hinata’s curiosity outweighs his nervousness about seeing someone he had never come out to. 

“Well, all my friends are here, buddy! Yours too!” As he says this, his grip on the third glass starts to slip. He dips forward in an attempt to balance it, but Hinata helps him catch it in time. 

Hearing the “ _ yours too! _ ” sends a shiver up Hinata’s spine. His eyes instantly glance around to see if he can spot them. 

“Who invited you and didn’t tell me? I’ll kick their ass!” 

“Uh…” Hinata simply blushes and puts a hand behind his head. 

“Oh, I see…” Tanaka’s demeanor remains cheerful as he connects the dots. “Ya really didn’t expect to know anybody at a volleyball themed gay bar?” 

“Not at all…” 

“Well come with me and be surprised, I guess. Here, can ya take one o’ these? My hands are frickin’ tired, man.” He passes the third glass to Hinata, who takes it helpfully. 

As they round a wall, they come upon a table full of familiar faces. The first thing Hinata sees is Sawamura Daichi’s arm draping over the back of Sugawara Koushi’s chair. Suga is angled toward him, hovering close to his face and saying something to him. Whatever it was must have been funny, because Daichi’s face turns red from laughter after he hears it. 

Next to them, Kiyoko Shimizu is sitting next to an empty chair. She is the first to see them coming, as she looks to be patiently waiting. As she says something, everyone looks up to see them. Asahi Azumane, Nishinoya Yuu, and Tanaka Saeko are the remaining faces that come into Hinata’s view now. 

“What the fuck! It’s you!” Tanaka Saeko shouts instantly, getting up from her chair to hug him. “C’mere little guy!” 

Elated surprise erupts around the table, all of them taking their turn to greet him. 

“Who invited you?” Noya asks with a big smile. Hinata freezes the second time this question is asked. 

“Noya…” Daichi says with a warning glance. 

“I did,” Tanaka jumps in quickly, tapping him on the back with his elbow. He sits down and hands the second beer he is holding to Kiyoko. 

“It’s okay, Tanaka…” Hinata takes a steadying breath before saying, “The truth is, I came here on my own. I’m gay.” 

“Congratulations, man!” Noya shouts, as if Hinata had just announced an engagement or promotion. He stands up and starts clapping, Asahi looking embarrassed in the seat next to him. 

“He’s right,” Saeko chimes in after a sip of her beer. “Being gay is awesome!” 

Daichi has a proud grin on his face, and Suga has a cute smile that he covers with his fingertips; the other hand tugging at Daichi’s shirt. 

“Tanaka, where’s that beer you said you’d get me?” Noya asks suddenly, looking at the two glasses in front of him and Kiyoko. 

“Sorry, gave it to Hinata,” Tanaka says with a stretch, his arm landing around Kiyoko’s waist. “Go get your own.” 

Hinata looks down at the full glass in his hand that he had almost forgotten about. “Oh, here, Noya.” 

“No, no, no. You take it, man of the hour.” Tanaka’s tone is insistent. 

“I don’t really drink…” Hinata says, scrunching his eyebrows at the amber liquid. 

He finally takes a seat next to Nishinoya, placing the still-full glass in front of him without taking a drink. The bar is beginning to crowd with people coming in from the street. 

“Ugh, it didn’t used to be so busy all the time before that stupid article,” Saeko says angrily with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. In the middle of her eye roll, a realization dawns on her face as she glances toward Hinata. 

“You guys have zero emotional intelligence, I swear…” Daichi says from across the table, his forehead resting in his palm. 

“What article?” Hinata asks, pretending he doesn’t know  _ exactly _ what she’s talking about. 

A few speculative glances hit him; none of the table believes his ignorance. 

Out of politeness, Kiyoko speaks up. “Kageyama had a photo of him snapped while he was here one night…” 

“I swear if I knew who took that picture...” There’s a dangerous look in Noya’s eyes as he contemplates the things he would put the perpetrator through. 

“He hasn’t been back since, and I can’t say I blame him…” Sugawara taps at the edge of his glass a few times, creating a soft  _ tink, tink, tink. _

“So he likes boys! I don’t understand why the whole volleyball world has to blow up about it…” Saeko perches her arm on the back of her chair as she rants. Her face is flushed with both anger and alcohol, a scowl rearing her teeth. 

Hinata watches their anger flare, feeling it kindle a positive glow in his chest. He takes a large gulp from the glass in front of him, forgetting what its contents hold. A scowl of his own springs on his face as he embraces the bitter taste of the beer. 

Nishinoya gives him a rough pat on the back in support. “You get used to the taste.”

“I don’t think I want to,” Hinata replies, the displeased look still scrunching his features. 

He slides the glass to his left, placing it in front of Nishinoya. 

Hinata finds out through conversation that Asahi and Nishinoya are living together in Tokyo, and only travel down to Sendai every other weekend to meet up with everyone here. Nishinoya also tells him about his grand solo adventure he is planning on taking soon, and as he finishes his beer he says, “The fates wanted us to see each other again, dude! How cool is that!” 

Hinata tells him all about Rio, particularly the smaller spots that he had learned about from locals, while Nishinoya takes notes on his phone. 

A bright pink drink gets placed in front of Hinata, much to his surprise.

“Try this one,” Tanaka says with a knowing grin. 

“Tanaka, don’t peer pressure him,” Daichi warns, looking at Hinata in concern. Sugawara gives him a nudge and a shush, watching Hinata with an intent focus. 

“I can’t help that I  _ love _ being a bad influence!” Tanaka falls back into his chair. 

“Uh, it’s okay. What’s in this?” Hinata asks, not sure he wants to put anything so artificially colored into his body. 

“Happiness,” Nishinoya says with a thumbs up and a wink. 

The sweet liquid is well received by Hinata’s taste buds. Within the first few tentative sips, he can already feel an alien numbness start to seep into the top of his brain. 

As the liquid in the glass shrinks, the conversation grows. 

Tanaka and Kiyoko tell him stories about their wedding, and Hinata is full of congratulatory cheer when he hears of Daichi and Koushi’s impending trip to Australia to get married as well; it seems so surreal to him how much has changed but feels no different at all. 

Hinata looks at his empty glass with melancholy, wondering how it would be if he had stayed in Japan for the last two years instead. He has no regrets about the training he had done overseas, and knows that it has helped him in his goal to exceed Kageyama; but he can’t help feeling like he has missed out on a lot. 

He doesn’t even notice how much time has gone by when Daichi begins to yawn. The yawn spreads across the table from person to person, feeling the weight of 2 AM on their shoulders. 

“You guys are definitely going to have to crash in our guest bedroom,” Sugawara says to Asahi and Nishinoya. 

“How did it even get this late?” Asahi asks in disbelief as he looks at his wristwatch. 

“It’s  _ only _ 2 o’ clock!” Saeko chimes in with a scoff. “We just got here!”

“You say that every time, sis.” Tanaka looks over to Hinata. “You got a way home?”

“Yeah, it’s fine, I rode my bike here.” 

“What? How far is it?” Sugawara asks with wide eyes. 

“Only like 16 kilometers,” Hinata replies coolly, his expression is serene. 

“Hahaha, you’re crazy, dude!” Tanaka laughs abruptly, slamming his fist on the table. “Man, I missed ya!”

After everyone parts ways and says their goodbyes, Hinata is feeling lifted in spirits. His eyes are starting to droop, but he knows the wind will keep him awake on his bike ride. 

As he turns the corner to retrieve his bike, he freezes as a hollowed feeling hits his stomach. His bike is gone. 

Looking around for a few seconds just to be sure, a small panic starts to rise inside of him. He doesn’t know this side of the city very well. The street he is on is actually kind of busy considering the time of night it is, patrons strolling in and out of different bars. 

His options are limited, as the train station is closed this late. He could call Tanaka or any of the others he just departed from, but he doesn’t want to be a bother to them. Flipping out his phone, he decides to call Yachi. 

He continues down the street as the phone rings, whispering “come on, come on, pick up…” 

As the ringing goes unanswered, he spots a familiar looking silhouette just ahead of him. He slowly pulls his phone away as his recognition overwhelms him with excitement and anxiety. 

“I’m so, so sorry I missed your call! I’ll call back as soon as I look at my phone again! This is Yachi Hitoka, by the way,” emits from his phone speaker, but he barely hears it. 

His feet are moving before he even wills them to, each step increasing his heartbeat as he shortens the distance to his point of focus. The hair length, the stance, and the height of the man he pursues all add up to Kageyama. 

All of Hinata’s emotional energy is sapped from him as he grabs his arm, making eye contact with the stranger that turns to look at him. A confused and slightly irritated expression quickly shifts into interest as the man asks him, “Hey, cutie, do I know you or something?”

“I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else…” Hinata’s heart seems to have somehow slowed below normal, if it’s even beating at all. His blood feels like it has run still. 

“Just because I’m not who you thought I was, doesn’t mean you weren’t looking for me,” the Kageyama imposter replies coolly. “I could be the one you’ve been looking for your whole life.” 

Hinata has to suppress a giggle at the man’s sly response. Lines like these always worked on Hinata, but he doesn’t want it to this time. Politely rejecting the man’s advances, he makes his way up the street a little further before pulling out his phone again. He doesn’t want to look like he’s lost, even though he technically is. 

Looking at his map, he pulls up the address Yachi had given him when she moved this summer. It’s not close, but still much closer than his mom’s; and he doesn’t want to go home this late possibly smelling like liquor. 

As he starts his trek, he considers if the intrusion will upset Yachi. It’s late, but it’s a Saturday. He knows Yachi is his best friend, and he’s technically in need right now. In the end, he doesn’t have much choice, as he doesn’t have enough money to get a room anywhere. 

The GPS guides his steps all the way to Yachi’s apartment building, leaving him to find the unit himself. He had never been to her apartment, so finding the right one in the dark is somewhat of a challenge. 

He makes his way up a couple flights of steps before finding the number attached to her mailing address. Still, he’s slightly worried that he has the wrong door. 

He knocks anyway and waits. 

A bright yellow square pops up next to the door as a light is turned on behind the window. Hinata can hear a couple of shuffling noises and voices bickering back and forth with each other. 

“... down the fire escape?”

“I don’t have a fire escape!”

“What? Yachi, that’s  _ dangerous _ !” 

“I know!”

Seconds later, the door opens in front of Hinata. The light in the backdrop casts a large shadow over him as the tall figure comes through, Hinata has to adjust his eyes to see the spectacled face. 

“‘sup,” Tsukishima says casually to him as he walks past him, nodding his head upward in recognition. 

Before Hinata can reply, another figure comes out of the apartment in a rush.

“Uh, anyway, thank you for letting me borrow that casserole dish! Sorry it took so long to return it!” Yamaguchi shouts to the door behind him. He turns around just before running into Hinata, his face turning redder with every word. “Oh, hey Hinata! I didn’t even see you there…”

Hinata doesn’t understand why Yamaguchi is acting so strange, or why he would return a casserole dish at 3 o’ clock in the morning. He waves them goodbye, several calculations grinding in his head. As each of them cancel each other out, he only confuses himself more. 

“Hinata? You okay?” Yachi asks from the doorway, her face half hidden by the door. 

She takes a step back in a silent gesture to invite him inside. As soon as he walks through the door, a wave of exhaustion rolls over him. 

Yachi makes tea while Hinata explains the rough ending of his night out. Her eyes follow along with intensity, reacting to every detail. Her pajamas are a pale shade of pink, covered by a silky pink robe. She’s the only person Hinata has ever told everything to, and he has never once felt judged by her. 

Even with the light zing of caffeine from the tea, between jet lag and dragging emotions, Hinata is exhausted. He barely remembers falling asleep on the couch before waking up on it, draped in a blanket. 

The sunlight filters into the room, highlighting the pieces of furniture adorned with framed photos and potted plants. Yachi’s apartment is well kept, and her decorating style is pleasing to the eye. 

Skimming the photos, Hinata’s eyes instantly focus on one from their graduation day; narrowed specifically on Kageyama’s face. His chest tightens at the vision of a soft, yet tight lipped smile pointing up to dark eyes. 

He is sitting deep in Yachi’s couch as he pulls out his phone to check the time. It’s still very early, explaining why Yachi hasn’t stirred from her room yet. The battery on his phone is only a quarter of the way full, but he pulls up Facebook anyway. 

There are quite a few notifications on his profile, leading him to clicking on the post Tanaka tagged him in. The group selfie they had taken the night before springs up in all its colorful silly faces. The caption reads, “Long time no see!”

The location is tagged along with the other 7 faces in the photo. There are already more than 60 reactions from people who had seen this before him. He clicks out of curiosity, and is immediately caught off guard by the name Kageyama Tobio next to a thumbs up. 

He re-reads it a few times to be sure he had processed it correctly before inevitably conceding to his need to click on it. He knows the spiral he is finding himself back in is dangerous. After years of fresh air away to clear his head, he thought he had finally gotten over his obsession; but it was only hours after getting back to Japan that he found himself in over his head again, so he’s not sure he was ever over it at all. 

He scrolls through his page, clinging to every morsel he can find. Kageyama is not very active on social media, so most of the posts are from other people who have tagged him. The album titled “Tagged Photos” is a goldmine of goofy candids with unprepared expressions. 

He finds the images comforting in a strange way; pilfering through his crush’s profile feels illicit, yet too pleasing to stop. It gives him that rush of rebellion that feeds his adrenaline addiction. As he continues to scroll, his thumb twitches and causes it to tap twice. 

The like button turns blue. 

Hinata’s blood freezes as he realizes what he’s done, looking at the date on the post and reading it over and over again. October 3, 2016.  _ 2016\.  _

He falls into the pillow he had slept on, using it to muffle his embarrassed and high pitched groan. 

“Hmm, good morning, Hinata,” Yachi greets in a sleepy voice. “Um, did you sleep okay?”

“Yep! Everything’s fine!” Hinata’s voice has yet to lose the high pitched quality that the traumatic shock had given it. 

“Okay… Well, do you want breakfast?” She starts to work in her kitchenette, grabbing a pan out of a cupboard. 

“That’s okay, I’m gonna head home. Thank you for letting me crash on your couch. I owe you.” 

“Anytime, Hinata! Just, um, let me know the day before next time…?” There’s a nervous edge to her voice, but that’s almost always there. 

As Hinata sits down to put on his shoes, he notices an extra pair of shoes that look out of place. They’re men’s shoes, and at least three times too large for Yachi’s feet. Just as he gets the urge to ask, his thoughts instantly shift full force back to Kageyama. 

“Yachi…” He pauses the process of tying his shoe to look up at her. “Why do you think he hasn’t texted me?” 

“Well, have you tried texting him?” She asks, walking over to him with a fresh cup of coffee. 

“Uh…” He considers how this would look after his mishap of liking a year old photo. 

“I know that’s scary!” Yachi says suddenly, nearly spilling her coffee as she jumps. “But you’ve gotta get past the scary part before it gets easier. He might be even more scared than you.”

“Kageyama’s not scared of anything,” Hinata replies matter-of-factly. 

A giggle lies under Yachi’s breath as she responds, “Everyone is afraid of something.” 

Yachi’s insightful words strike a chord in him as he waves goodbye. He pulls his phone out of his pocket as he descends the stairs at a quick pace before slowing to a stroll when he reaches the street. There are a few trash cans on the side of the road, and one has been knocked over. A fluffy tail can be seen poking out from behind it as a stray cat rummages inside the bin. 

Hinata scrolls through the Ks in his contact list, coming across a different name that offers a good diversion from facing his fear. 

He clicks on the number, holding it to his ear as he waits for an answer. The ringing drones on the other end until an answering machine picks up, reciting in an uninterested voice, “You’ve reached Kouzume Kenma. It’s either too early, or I don’t like you.” 

The recording is immediately followed by an elongated beep that ends before Hinata has finished mentally preparing his message, “Oh, uh, hey! What’re you up to? You’re probably busy, I just wanted to see if I could come over.” 

As soon as he hangs up, he receives a text message. 

**(K) Kenma**

Why don’t you ever just text? You can come over, I’ll probably be out of bed by the time you make it here.

what, i don’t get another helicopter ride? ☹️

That was a special occasion. 

Also, thanks to Kuroo, I no longer have a helicopter license. 

that sounds like a fun story

It’s not. See you later. 


	2. MSBY Black Jackals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata meets his new team and settles into his life in Osaka.

“When you asked to come over, I didn’t think this is what you had in mind,” Kenma huffs, nearly out of breath. He wipes the sweat off of his face in disdain. 

“What’s the point of having a personal volleyball court if you never use it?” Hinata asks, still in a readied stance. “Toss me another!”

“I think the point is just to have it,” Kenma responds as he sends another ball Hinata’s way. 

“You’re hilarious, Kenma!” 

“Yeah, and you’re still crazy.” 

Kenma recedes to the edge of the court, dramatically falling into a sitting position. Some of his hair is falling into his face, so he tucks the strands behind his ear. He told Hinata he had let it get so long because getting haircuts is a bother. Despite the unfocused and bothered look on his face, he still manages to give Hinata a soft smile. 

Hinata joins him for the break, taking a long gulp out of his water bottle. He quickly feels the oxygen pumping back into his blood as his breathing catches up to him. They had spent most of the afternoon out here. 

Glancing to his right, he notices Kenma watching him. 

“Do you want to do something else now?” He asks, already knowing the answer. 

“Yes, let’s go inside.” 

  
  


They change into house slippers at the back door of the large house. Hinata still hasn’t gotten used to visiting Kenma here, with the high walls and ceilings. He wonders if all the space gets lonely living alone in a house like this. 

Before Hinata gets the chance to stand, he is gracefully greeted with fur grazing his side. He makes a quarter-turn to pet the striking black cat that purrs at him. 

“Hi Zelda,” he says in a soft, awe-inspired voice as he strokes her fluffy fur. “You’re so pretty.”

Another set of paws plants themselves onto his lap from the other side, a feline nose nudging him for attention. He turns to see the orange tabby cat looking at him expectantly. “Isabelle!”

Isabelle purrs noisily as he turns his attention to her, getting louder as he scratches beneath her chin. 

“Why do you like him more than me?” Kenma directs the questions at his cats. “I feed you, you ingrates.” 

“Where is Mario?” Hinata asks, looking around for his favorite of Kenma’s cats. 

“I’ll find him.” Kenma walks over to a bowl sitting on a foyer table, picking up a small silver cylinder. 

As soon as the chain attached to the laser pointer makes the smallest clacking noise, a skittering of claws on hardwood emits from the other side of the house. A streak of gray comes springing around the corner, instantly chasing down the bright red dot. This was the youngest of the trio, still less than a year old. 

The look on his wild eyed face is determined with an intense focus, followed by a confused glance upward as the dot disappears. Kenma offers the laser pointer to Hinata, who quickly grabs it. He sends Mario on a high speed chase throughout the living room, up the cat tree, down the hall and back in front of them. Isabelle and Zelda have grown playful as well, chasing after Mario’s chaotic energy. 

As his delight grows at the scene, he feels a buzz in his pocket. He leaves it unchecked until he has finished his fun with the laser, placing it back in the bowl. Mario’s eyes are widened as he breathes heavily, still on guard for the red dot. 

He takes a seat on the long sectional couch in Kenma’s living room, watching as the giant television screen displays the Nintendo loading screen. 

Hinata doesn’t have the amount of patience required to fully enjoy video games, but he never turns down a Nintendo Switch controller when Kenma hands him one. 

“Mario Kart?” He asks as the gentle connection noises ping from the television. 

“Sure! I think I’m finally getting the jump tricks down.” 

Boisterous music starts playing through the speakers as Mario (the video game character, not the cat) announces “Mario Kart 8!”

Hinata goes to work, picking the coolest looking build for his kart. Kenma has everything unlocked, giving him multiple options to choose from. He picks the motorcycle that looks like a horse, and would never tell Kenma he doesn’t know what franchise it represents. 

To the left, Kenma’s kart is already complete; he has the stats pulled up next to it, and the bars are as maxed out as they can be. Hinata doesn’t remember the button to pull those up, but he also doesn’t really care about that. His kart looks awesome. Donkey Kong looms bulking over the motorcycle as the countdown starts. 

Hinata comes in 8th place, only able to watch as baby Luigi and Peach zoom past him after getting knocked by a red shell. Kenma’s Shy Guy snags the victory in all 3 tracks of the Grand Prix, earning him the cup. 

“Try getting more coins next time, they make you go faster.” 

Hinata makes a mental note of that. He had thought they were collected somewhere to buy stuff, and that he didn’t need them because Kenma already had everything. Coins = Money = Buying things. Speed hadn’t been anywhere in his mental equation. 

“Got it! Let’s go again.”

Remembering the buzz he had felt earlier, he picks his phone out of his pocket to look at the notification. The screen lights up with a tap, revealing the message. 

> **Kageyama Tobio** 1:32 PM
> 
> Hey

These three little letters claw their way straight into Hinata’s brain, sending the shocked panic directly to his heart. It flutters profusely as he stares at the screen until it goes dark from idleness. 

“Uh, Hinata, the race has started,” Kenma informs him. 

“Shit,” he curses as he drops his phone to reposition the controller in his hand. 

He plays with dispassion, unable to fully focus on the track in front of him. Even when he is not glancing at the phone sitting on his lap, it is still at the front of his mind. _Hey_ . **Hey.** Hey. 

**_Hey._ **

He repeats it in his head in every way possible. How does he respond to that? He doesn’t want to ignore it and make it seem like he’s uninterested, but he also doesn’t want to say anything that will lead to a dead end. 

As he finishes the third lap on the first race, he searches the back of Donkey Kong’s head for an answer. Hinata comes in 12th place, immediately picking up his phone as his motorcycle passes the finish line. 

  
  
  


1:47 PM 

Hey! How’s it goin!

**Read 1:47 PM**

  
  


_Probably too many exclamation marks_ , he thinks to himself the instant he presses send. A spike of excitement stabs his chest as three dots pop up, indicating that Kageyama is typing something back. 

Isabelle balances her way across the back of the couch, stopping to lovingly sniff at the side of Hinata’s face. Her whiskers tickle his ear, causing him to giggle involuntarily. 

  
  


1:48 PM

[image attached]

I’m eating a tangerine. It looks like you.

Haha no it doesn’t!

 **Read 1:48 PM**

You’re wrong as always.

What are you doing?

Playing Mario Kart!

**Read 1:48 PM**

  
  


_Still too many exclamation marks_ , he thinks as he types and sends this, remembering the game in front of him. The screen is sitting on the track selection screen. Looking to his left, he sees Kenma staring at him. 

“Sorry, are you waiting on me?” 

Hinata can feel his cheeks getting a little sore from the edges of his wide smile. He tries to rest them, but every time his smile falls it picks itself right back up again. 

“It’s okay, it seems important,” Kenma replies, referring to how Hinata’s eyes keep glancing back at his phone. 

“It’s just Kageyama,” Hinata explains, quickly reading the message that pops up on his homescreen. 

  
  


> **Kageyama Tobio** 1:50 PM
> 
> Are you any good, or is that something I can kick your ass at too?

  
  


The competitive nudging feeds the adrenaline flowing through Hinata’s veins. 

“Ah,” Kenma says dryly. He sets his controller down and begins to stroke Zelda’s silky black fur. 

Hinata knows he should pay attention to his friend, but the buzzing at the forefront of his brain is focused entirely on the text messages. He decides to seize a quick moment to reply. 

  
  


1:50 PM

idk i’ve been getting some

good tips from Kenma

i bet i could beat u

**Read 1:50**

Challenge accepted. 

We’ll set up a game after our match.

MSBY Black Jackals, right?

Yup! I start practicing with them

Monday! 

**Read 1:50**   
  
  


Still, Hinata can’t seem to escape the exclamation marks. He replaces his phone with the neon green switch controller, gripping it between his hands. He now has the best reasoning in existence to get much better at Mario Kart: to beat Kageyama. 

“Okay, Kenma, I need you to teach me everything.” 

  
  


~*~

“This is the best day of my _life_!”

Bokuto Koutarou falls dramatically to his knees, spreading his arms out wide as Hinata walks through the training room doors. Immediately, the smell of clean rubber and linen hits Hinata’s senses. 

The rest of the team seems unphased by Bokuto’s outburst, continuing to prepare for practice as he embraces their newest member in a bear hug. 

“See? I told ya I’d set for ya one day,” Miya Atsumu mentions as he walks over to join them. “I’m literally a psychic.”

“Wow,” Bokuto and Hinata say in shocked unison.

“He is _not_ psychic,” Sakusa Kiyoomi says in a disinterested voice.

He holds his hands in his jacket pocket as he looks at the three of them with a judgemental scowl hidden beneath a face mask. 

“Oh yeah?” Atsumu challenges, “I bet ¥1,000 I know what color underwear you’re wearing, Omi-Omi.”

Even with the face mask, it is obvious that Atsumu’s playful jab had sparked a blush to spread across Sakusa’s face. He tries to hide it with a crinkle of his brow. “You’d definitely lose that ¥1,000.”

He walks away with tense shoulders, a stark difference from his usual relaxed posture. For as tall as Sakusa is, it’s sometimes hard to tell by the way he slumps. 

“Pfft.” Atsumu is unphased. He holds a hand up to his mouth as he mutters to the two still standing next to him, “They’re grey.”

As he walks away to chase after Sakusa with even more things to say, Hinata looks to Bokuto. “That was… weird.”

“Right? I can’t believe Tsum-Tsum is _psychic_.” 

“Yeah, that, but didn’t it seem like he was flirting with Sakusa-san?” Hinata plops his duffle bag down on the bench in front of an empty locker. 

“Huh? Maybe. I dunno, he’s just like that,” Bokuto says as he grabs Hinata’s bag with no explanation. 

Setting it down in front of another locker, he begins to empty the occupied locker’s contents. 

“Hey! What are you doing with my stuff?” Shion Inunaki asks, rushing over to grab the articles of gym gear that are falling off the bench. 

“Sorry, Inu-san, it is moving day. My prodigy needs to be next to me.”

“Uh, wait no, don’t do that…” Hinata weakly raises his hand to stop him. 

“Um, I think you mean protégé?” Shion says as he begins to fold his clothing back into neat piles. 

“You don’t know our relationship,” Bokuto snaps his reply confidently, unaware of the nonsense he is speaking. 

A bemused huff exhales from Shion’s nose as he mutters, “All you had to do was ask…” 

“I’m so sorry,” Hinata says with a bow. “I am your new teammate, Hinata Shouyou.” 

“I gathered that. Nice to meet you, I’m Shion Inunaki. Libero.” He extends a hand, but falters as he notices Hinata’s expression. 

“I know,” Hinata says in awe. His face must be showing the same amount of shock and marvel he is feeling. 

He knows all the names of his teammates and their positions. It was an easy topic to study when he still has the same magazine subscription he’s had since High School. Soon, he’d be in one of those magazines too; all the same, these men are celebrities to him. 

Shion gives him a speculative look before his demeanor shifts into a welcoming smile, saying, “I think I’m gonna like you, Shouyou.”

The rest of the team does not take long warming up to him either. By the end of their first practice, he had already received many shoulder punches of endearment and respect. His right bicep is even a little sore. 

The team is sweaty and breathing heavily as they wind down from their practice, drinking from water bottles and chatting. Hinata is doing some stretches when Shion comes over to him with a wicked twist in his brow. 

“What’s up?” Hinata asks, looking up at him as he reaches for his toes. 

“We’re gonna play a prank on Bokuto,” he says sinisterly. “You want in?” 

Hinata has heard of locker room antics like these in pro leagues, but usually it’s the new members that get the teasing. A small feeling of paranoia creeps in as he slants his eyes and answers slowly. “... Sure.” 

“Good, because it’s going to be a team effort…” 

Shion goes on to explain his plan in detail, and how if they get the timing right: they will all finally get to see Bokuto embarrassed for the first time ever. 

Thinking it over, Hinata is sure that it’s the meanest thing he’s ever heard done to someone. However, he also can’t think of a time he had ever seen Bokuto embarrassed. And, he had already agreed to help before hearing the plan. 

There’s a lesson here somewhere, but Hinata can only give into the pressure of his new peer. And thus, the scheme is set. 

The locker room shower starts off frigid, but tempers to warm after a few moments. Hinata quickly washes the post-practice sweat from his body; even quicker than usual. 

As foretold, Bokuto lingers the longest in the showers. His upbeat humming continues to float through the steam as the rest of the team make their exit. The towels they wrap around their wastes dwindle from the supplied stack just outside the showers. 

Hinata had learned locker room etiquette a long time ago, although he has to take more advanced measures than most as a gay man. His years of practicing tunnel vision and eye-contact only looks are paying off. Although, he secretly hates his self-restraint sometimes. 

Shion comes through carrying the remaining stack of towels, rushing everyone to get dressed with excited whispers. He hands the towels off to Atsumu and begins to quickly remove every article of clothing from Bokuto’s open locker. In fairness, the prank is almost a form of poetic justice. 

The squeak of the last shower being turned off sounds from the other side of the wall, causing Shion to rush his movements. Silently, he beckons everyone to migrate out of the locker room. 

Huddled in a group just outside the room, the team waits to see how events will unfold. The hallway stretching around them has a few civilians making their way through to their destinations, passing by indoor plants and vending machines. A few people look their way out of curiosity. 

“Umm, dudes?” 

Bokuto’s confused voice echoes around the empty locker room before floating out the doorway.

The plan is as simple as leaving only a medium sized hand towel for Bokuto to cover up with, but it still has Shion in a fit of giggles over the anticipation. Hinata watches his expression instantly shift at the same moment he hears the slap of bare feet on the tiled hallway floor. 

Looking to see what has Shion slack-jawed, Hinata turns to see Bokuto drying his hair with the towel. A single glance down has Hinata falling to the floor at the same time a civilian shrieks from down the hallway. 

A bright flash flickers from the group, followed by Atsumu cursing. “Shit, my flash was on.”

“Why are you taking a photo?” Sakusa asks in a judgemental tone. 

“I’ve decided to make a yearbook for this season, just now,” Atsumu explains. “Don’t worry, I’ll put an eggplant emoji over it.”

“Seems like a baby carrot would be more… fitting,” Sakusa titters. 

“Why are you guys out here?” Bokuto asks, still dripping onto the tile. 

From the corner of his eye, Hinata sees their coach rushing toward them with a beet red face. He glances over to see Meian Shugo snap out of his shock as he sees the same thing. 

“Turn around right now,” He says quickly. “Everyone back inside.” 

Once the team has filtered through the door, Meian stays behind and leans against the doorframe. 

“Hey Coach Samson,” he says in English, a breezy quality to his voice. “How’s it going?”

From inside the locker room, Hinata can hear the whole interaction. He listens the whole time as Meian takes responsibility for the fiasco. 

Shion and Bokuto are busy making faces at each other in the form of a silent feud. A confused yet aggravated shrug from Bokuto meets a frustrated scowl followed by a stuck out tongue from Shion. 

Atsumu is leaning against a locker, poking Sakusa for attention; getting sprayed with disinfectant in response. 

As Hinata takes in his first day on a V. League team, he considers the dreams he has achieved. The interactions he’s seen today remind him of days in the Karasuno gymnasium, every face flashing before him as he reminisces. 

He gets the feeling he’s been living his dream for much longer than just today. 

~*~

As time inevitably passes by, Hinata finds himself settling into his new life with the autumn leaves. His bike ride to the training center is accompanied by several colors scattered across the concrete of the Osaka prefecture; orange, red, and yellow among the most common. 

The leaves also swirl past him with the brisk wind that leaves pink patches on his cheeks. The fresh air rushes into his nostrils and through his bloodstream with one deep inhale, filtering out of him as carbon dioxide with a similar exhale. 

The peace he feels is edged with zeal, the constant determination to finally beat Kageyama on the court on the back of his mind. Every passing day is one closer to seeing him across the net again. Closer to seeing him again. 

Making his way past multiple faces and signs in the street, he barely registers any of them as his thoughts drift like clouds behind his eyes. He reflects on the past weeks, and how he still feels just as far from Kageyama as he did in Rio. 

Besides a few text conversations here and there, his contact with him had been lacking. He had thrown a housewarming party in his new apartment for the sole purpose of inviting him over, but the invitation had been declined. 

The party was still fun despite the incomplete feeling that Kageyama’s absence left. The travel time is difficult, Hinata understands; but even Yachi, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima were able to make it all the way from Sendai. Not that Kageyama even had the decency to give a reason for his refusal. 

The pink patches on Hinata’s cheek darken to red as he frustrates himself further over the topic. Gripping his handlebars with clenched fists, he zips further down the street at an angry speed—grumbling about Kageyama the rest of his ride to practice. 

  
  


“Man, what’s the matter with you?” Atsumu asks. He is leaning against his knee, his leg propped up on the bench right next to Hinata. 

“Nothing,” Hinata replies, continuing to change his clothes with gruff movements as his furrowed eyes transfix into the empty space in his locker. 

“Uh-huh,” Atsumu says back with a stretch, exposing the tightened muscles on his thighs that are just barely covered by the way his shorts are draping. “I know that look. Tell me Hinata, are you getting any?” 

Hinata glances away as quickly as he looks, but his body is already reacting on the inside. The question from Atsumu hits him like a ton of bricks, causing him to slump forward. 

“What? Really?” Atsumu responds in shock, reading Hinata’s body language. “A good lookin’ guy like you?” 

Hinata looks over, his chin tilted upward to make it more obvious he is not looking at his crotch, and tries to read the expression on Atsumu’s face. He seems like he’s flirting, but Hinata remembers what Bokuto said about him just being “like that.” Whatever that means. 

As Hinata opens his mouth to reply, a sudden shout from from behind him cuts him off. 

“Hey, hey, hey! Halloween is here!” Bokuto announces as he makes his entrance into the locker room. 

“It’s October 3rd,” Shion replies in a slightly confused voice. 

“Yes, exactly! Start planning your costumes now!” Bokuto walks over to him and slams a piece of paper against his chest. “You are all cordially invited to my best bud’s Halloween Bash!”

“Ah, sick! I’ve been waiting for this all year,” Atsumu says as he leaves his perch to grab a flier. 

A copy is dangled in front of Hinata’s face as Bokuto tells him, “Attendance is mandatory! Costumes are also mandatory!”

Hinata reads the invitation while Shion grumbles in the background about personal rights and freedoms. The orange copy paper is covered in clip art of bats, pumpkins, and witch silhouettes in a tasteful pattern. 

**3rd Annual Halloween Bash**

**Presented By: Kuroo Tetsurou***

_*with no association to the JVA_

**Date:** October 27th, 2018

 **Time** : 7:00 PM - dawn

**💀 Come party to the grave 💀**

🎃 ppl who don’t wear costumes are squares 👻

  
  


“This is Kenma’s address,” Hinata comments over the paper. 

“It’ll be a haunted mansion by the time Kuroo is done with it!” Bokuto is full of raving excitement. “Invite whoever you want!” 

The word “invite” sticks straight into Hinata’s chest. He instantly considers the inevitable declination from the person he wants to invite the most. The pattern had been very easy to follow. 

Deciding to break his part of the pattern, he creates a group chat with just Yachi, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima. He takes a photo of the flier and sends it to them with the looking eyes emoji. It immediately gets a thumbs up from Yachi, who also responds, “What a great flier!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo: graphic design is my passion


	3. The Halloween Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of friends gather in different costumes for Kuroo's Halloween party. Who all is going to show?

Hoping he has read the instructions correctly, Hinata presses an adhesive fang onto his canine tooth. The bitter taste of the resin drips onto his tongue as he admires himself with curled up lips, turning his head a few different angles in the mirror. 

“Cool,” he says, immediately feeling the impeding factors the extra tooth length causes his speech. 

The ruffled white shirt he is wearing looks nice beneath the collared cape he puts on; it is black on the outside and red on the inside. His vampire look is complete. 

The bullet train ride to Tokyo is met with a few awkward glances, and some kindred costumed smiles. When he gets to Kenma’s place, he is already impressed by the outside decorations of tombstones and ghosts hanging from the trees. Fake spiderwebs cling to the side of the house with a large spider perched in the middle. 

He checks the clock on his phone, seeing the time is 6:55 PM. Surely he can’t be the first one to arrive. Walking into the unlocked front door, he sees that he is almost correct. 

Bokuto teeters slightly on a ladder next to a hallway entrance as he staples bloody streamers to the ceiling. He seems to be enjoying himself far too much with the staple gun he probably shouldn’t be allowed to use. 

The main room is completely empty of people, but full of hanging bats and witches on broomsticks. Black cat and dead tree silhouettes line the walls, shadows flickering off of them from the strobe lights. From out of nowhere, or a very well hidden fog machine, a spray of fog rolls over the floor and covers Hinata’s feet. 

“ _ Wow _ ,” Hinata says with his mouth agape. 

“Hinat- _ ahh!” _ Bokuto’s shout breaks into a horrified scream as the ladder below tilts too far, jostled from the sudden perking of Bokuto’s stance. 

Hinata is quick enough to reach the ladder in time to steady it, saving Bokuto from making a fall that would have probably seriously hurt him. How would he have explained that to Coach Foster? 

“Haha,  _ whoa _ ,” Bokuto says with wide eyes. His breathing is slightly staggered as he makes his way down the ladder, Hinata holding it firmly in place. “I coulda died, dude. You’re like a little vampire hero! Is that why they wear capes?”

“No, it’s to keep out the sun,” Hinata explains. 

The particular cape he is wearing is too short to pull up with his arm, so he simply flips the whole thing over his head. He does his best attempt at a maniacal vampire laugh with his arms raised up in Nosferatu style. 

He can’t see anything through the dark silky fabric, but the hideous laughter coming from Bokuto’s direction indicates his antics had done the trick. Hinata has known him long enough to know that the uglier Bokuto’s laugh is, the more amused he is. 

“Bro, why aren’t you in your costume yet?” 

The new voice causes Hinata to flip his cape back into place quickly, to see who had entered. Kuroo parts the bloody streamers as he steps into the living room. His face and neck are painted with patchwork stitches, and there are bolts sticking out of his neck. The makeup effect is so realistic it makes Hinata cringe on the inside. 

“Oh, what time is it?” Bokuto asks, looking around frantically. He disappears into the streamer filled hallway before anyone can answer. 

“What’s up, big guy? Look at you!” Kuroo wraps an arm around Hinata’s neck. 

Instinctively, Hinata breaks away and guards his hair. For some reason, everyone taller than him likes to ruffle his hair in some form or another. Based on the clenched fist and stance he leaves Kuroo in, he just avoided one hell of a noogie. 

This wouldn’t bother Hinata any other day, but he had actually used gel for once. Kuroo seems to immediately recognize the cause for caution. 

He shows his palms in apology. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“How’d you like those blocking skills?” Hinata asks with a smug grin. 

“Killer. Just like your costume.” 

“Your costume is  _ way cool _ ,” Hinata says as he examines the tweed blazer that is just as patchworked as Kuroo’s skin. The collared shirt beneath is also ripped and sewn in some places. 

A bolt of grey and white fur flits between Hinata’s legs and disappears beneath the black cheesecloth tablecloth, leaving a trail of dispersed fog on its way. 

“ _ There he is _ ,” Kuroo says with amp determination. He begins to slowly tiptoe toward the refreshment table, saying in a calm voice, “Mar-Mar, I am just going to lift this up and pick you up so I can take you someplace safe for the ni— _ Mar-Mar!” _

The moment the tablecloth is lifted, Mario springs out from beneath the table and around Kuroo’s crouched legs. Hinata is able to cut the kitten off just as he reaches the hallway, scooping him up before he has the chance to get away again. Two, incredibly dilated, cat eyes stare up at him as loud purring vibrates in Hinata’s arms. 

With his tone reflecting a baby’s voice, Kuroo says, “Come here you precious piece of shit” as he takes Mario from Hinata’s clutches. 

The cat struggles for freedom, but Kuroo keeps him contained with expert movements. He looks to have plenty of experience with unruly cats. He continues his conversation with Mario as he strolls down the hallway. “I know, I know. So many things are going on right now. You’re gonna be fine.”

Hinata follows the duo to the cat’s playroom, still amazed by the setup they have. Kuroo places his foot first at the door as he slowly cracks it open, blocking the orange fuzzy nose that immediately pokes through. 

“You ain’t slick, Izzy. Get back.” 

Gently forcing his way through, he stops to let Hinata through as Isabelle backs up with a confused scowl. A glance over to the sofa (that is starting to get multiple scratches), Hinata sees Kenma lounging with his nose buried in his Nintendo Switch. 

He is wearing casual cargo shorts and an open short sleeve shirt over a plain t-shirt. A bit out of season for the weather, if you’ve been outside. The ankle length socks he’s wearing twitch with his feet at the same time his eyes zip to follow his game. On his lap, Zelda’s deeply settled sleeping position suggests he has been sitting here for quite a while. 

“Hey Kenma,” Hinata greets, watching as his friend's eyes shift from rigid focus to soft surprise. 

“Hinata, hey. I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I texted you three hours ago,” Hinata laughs. 

“Yeah, he’s been sitting here doin’ jack squat all day,” Kuroo says with a mocking laugh. “I  _ will _ need your help with the soundboard during the party though.”

“Why can’t Bokuto do it?” Kenma’s eyebrows slant upward as he protests. 

“You know he can’t remember the buttons.”

“Fine…” The agreement is backed up by a few grumbled mutterings. 

“Right on. I gotta go make sure if any other guests have arrived,” Kuroo says in a cheerful tone of victory. As soon as he disappears behind the door, he pops his head right back in to say, “Oh, and Kenma? Don’t forget your costume.” 

“I’m not wearing those,” Kenma replies, but Kuroo is already long gone. 

Zelda decides she has been disturbed enough, and jumps off of Kenma’s lap with a graceful landing. Her eyes are blinking sleepily as she saunters over to rub against Hinata’s leg. 

The walls of the room are lined with shelving and hammocks all within the cats’ reach. Toys litter the floor with bright colors in the shapes of mice and fish. Some of the cat trees that are usually in the main halls have been collected in here as well, cluttered in the corner. Mario is currently exploring the newfound structure, his legs sticking straight out as he climbs down into a different level. 

“Your cats are so great,” Hinata says with a grin. 

“Thanks,” Kenma replies with a small smile. He picks up Isabelle and scratches her chin. She purrs and lifts her chin as far as she can to look at him. “I think so too.” 

  
  


When Hinata walks into the living room, he finds two more people have arrived. He recognizes the cloak things they are wearing from the Harry Potter school, but has to approach them before he realizes he knows the faces. 

Daichi has on the red and gold lion school robe on, and is wearing circular glasses underneath the lightning shaped scar that even Hinata can recognize as belonging to Harry Potter. To his right, Sugawara is wearing the green and silver snake school robe. 

“Who are you supposed to be?” Hinata asks Suga. 

“I’m Draco Malfoy,” he responds with a twirl in his robes. 

“Ohhh right,” Hinata says, tapping his palm with his fist. “The evil guy.”

Sugawara’s face immediately tenses up as he searches for a retort. Daichi swiftly steps in front of him, calmly saying, “Don’t say ‘ _ evil _ ’ when talking about Draco to Suga. Trust me.”

“He’s just  _ misunderstood _ ,” comes from behind Daichi. 

“He’s a racist and a bigot, sweetie.” Daichi steps back beside him and places an arm around a red-faced Sugawara. 

“Yeah, and Harry just so happened to be in the right time and right place. Not everyone is  _ chosen _ , y’know. And so what, Draco used the resources he had to…” The rant continues as Daichi pats his shoulder patiently. Hinata loses track of the words Sugawara is even saying. 

“Right… I’m sorry, I’ve only seen two of the movies.” 

“Well, Sugawara and Daichi are nerds that own two copies of every book,” Kuroo interjects into the conversation. 

“They integrated into the same household and neither of us wanted to get rid of our personal copies. Is that nerdy?” Daichi asks, his wand and robe sleeves waving around with every gesture. 

“Absolutely.” Kuroo seems incredibly amused with himself. 

“I know you’ve read the books too,” Daichi mutters. 

“WHO’S READY TO PARTY?” Bellows through the nearly empty room as Bokuto makes his grand re-entrance. 

He has on a singed and tattered lab coat, no shirt, and very short shorts underneath. His spiky highlighted hair looks perfect behind the goggles placed on his head. 

“ _ Bro, _ ” Kuroo says in an aggravated grunt. “You didn’t tell me you were doing a  _ sexy  _ mad scientist! I’m in a sensible tweed jacket!” 

“Every costume I wear is going to be sexy. Deal with it.” 

“I’ve got fuckin’ elbow patches, man!” Kuroo raises his arms in disbelief. “Elbow patches!” 

“Just take your shirt off,” Bokuto suggests. He looks disinterested in the conversation, but very interested in the cookies on the table. 

“No, I didn’t do my makeup that far down.” 

“What do you want me to do? Put a shirt  _ on? _ ” Bokuto raises a brow as he munches on the pumpkin shaped cookie he grabbed. 

“Don’t you dare make him do that.” It’s Atsumu’s voice that comes from the direction of the front door. 

Hinata turns around to see him and Sakusa walking in together. Sakusa is wearing all white with strips of white cloth around him, a lazy interpretation of a mummy. His face (sans his eyes) and hands are the only parts of him that are fully covered. Atsumu is sporting both wolf ears and a wolf tail, but his clothing other than that is relatively casual. Denim cut-off shorts mold to his thighs with tightness; the faded red hoodie is slightly unzipped and revealing a bare chest. 

“Well? Let’s get this party started!” Atsumu proclaims as he unzips his hoodie to reveal the rest of his toned chest and abs, ripping it off of his body with confidence. 

As if on cue, music starts to play from the speakers set up around the house. Kuroo shouts a whoop of appreciation to Kenma who is messing with the system on the slightly raised stage. 

It’s not long before multiple costume-clad people have found their way inside as Kuroo greets them at the door, each person by their name. Many of them are strangers to Hinata, but that doesn’t stop him from complimenting their costumes. 

Asahi shows up alone, looking like he stepped right off of The Black Pearl with his Captain Jack Sparrow costume. The wardrobe is seamless and his makeup looks almost creepily like Johnny Depp. The costume was so good in fact, that multiple people have approached him to tell him so. The soft spoken “thank you”s are the only thing that doesn’t go perfectly with the costume. 

Pinstripe suits and fedoras pull together Tanaka and Kiyoko’s classic gangster costumes. Kiyoko’s suit is tailored nicely to fit her, and she looks powerful in the pants and high heels duo. A bright red boutonniere is pinned to Tanaka’s vest jacket. 

Hinata is so impressed with all of his friends’ costumes, even the simple ones. Making a small admittance to himself, he realizes that Atsumu’s has been his favorite costume so far. He lets his glance find him in the crowd again, his scanning stopping when his eyes target onto Atsumu’s midsection; the waistline of his shorts look like it can hardly contain its contents. 

Eyes traveling upward, lingering at every muscle line, Hinata finds himself making direct eye contact with Atsumu. The flashes of the strobe light cast quickly changing shadows onto his face, revealing and hiding the smirk he is directing toward Hinata with every flicker. 

Hinata swiftly pivots to the right, walking in the direction of the front door with feigned purpose. The timing is perfect, because when he gets there he sees Yachi and Yamaguchi coming through it. 

Yachi is wearing a green argyle sweater vest over her skirt and yellow tights. Her hair is pulled up in a bun on top of her head, with added yellow dog ears to accommodate the black nose she drew on her face. Yamaguchi is also wearing a green sweater vest with a long sleeve collared shirt and red tie. His face is painted as well, but with a brown line across his eyes that matches the round ears on his head. 

They both light up as soon as they see Hinata heading their direction. Behind them, Hinata can see as Bokuto and Kuroo stop someone at the door. 

“Tsukki, my dude, this is a  _ costume  _ party,” Kuroo says as he drapes himself against the doorframe. In his right hand he is holding a black solo cup. 

“Should we let him in, Kuroo?” Bokuto asks with crossed arms and a raised brow. The two of them make a highly effective, highly handsome blockade. 

“I dunno, Bo. What kind of example would that set?” Kuroo swirls the liquid in his cup before taking a sip. 

Tsukishima sighs deeply as he begins to unbutton the front of his shirt, starting with the top button. 

“Oya?!” Bokuto nearly knocks the drink out of Kuroo’s hand as he slaps at him without taking his eyes away from the show. “Strip for us, Tsukki!” 

Kuroo barely notices the jostling of his cup as he says, “Dude, if you insist on going this far… Ah, what the fuck?” 

Beneath the purple button-up shirt Tsukishima had worn, a t-shirt with the words “This is my costume” in a plain font is slowly revealed. 

“I expected more from you,” Kuroo says with a sigh, taking a small step to the side and waving him in. 

“That’s your fault, not mine,” Tsukishima says as he sidesteps into the door, still having to squeeze between the mad scientist and monster. 

Joining the trio that’s waiting for him, he looks Hinata up and down with a twitching smile. Suppressing his laughter, he says, “‘Sup, Twilight?” 

Yamaguchi and Yachi have to hold back their own giggles. As soon as she can contain herself, Yachi steps in, “You look great, Hinata!”

“Thank you?” Hinata replies, not sure if he has just received a compliment or not. “What are you guys supposed to be?” 

“I’m Tom Nook, and she’s Isabelle!” Yamaguchi places his arm around Yachi’s shoulders. Reading the blank expression on Hinata’s face, he continues, “From Animal Crossing!”

Realization immediately rushes into Hinata’s features. “I should have recognized that.” 

The ground beneath Hinata’s feet vibrates with the beat of the music as he filters back into the party with his core friend group in tow. They stop at the refreshment stand and are intercepted by more friends. 

“You came to the wrong side o’ town, Isabelle,” Kiyoko says in a deep voice, pointing a water gun at Yachi. “Put your adorable paws where I can see ‘em.” 

Yachi immediately drops the cup she had just reached for, placing her hands palm out in front of her. “Please don’t shoot me! I’m innocent!”

“That’s exactly the problemo,” Tanaka pipes in, scratching beneath his fedora with the tip of his water gun. “Can’t have you givin’ up our illicit activities to the coppers.” 

“Shoot me instead,” Hinata says, stepping in front of her. “I’m immortal.”

“Oh yeah?” Tanaka points his gun at Hinata’s chest. “What if I said this was full of holy water?”

“No…” Hinata clutches his chest dramatically. Looking back at Yachi, he says, “Remember me Isabelle,” before crumpling to the floor. 

The group dissolves into laughter, sans Tsukki (who is rolling his eyes and looking away from them to pretend he doesn’t belong there). Yamaguchi starts to pour out some of the bloody colored punch for everyone and passes the cups around. 

“Does this have liquor in it?” Hinata asks distrustfully. He sniffs at the crimson liquid. 

“It doesn’t say,” Yamaguchi says as he looks around the bowl. 

There is no sign, but the bowl itself has spikes on it. Hinata decides to take a drink and try it and it doesn’t taste terrible. As he goes for another sip, he hears his name being called from behind him. 

“Hinata! Hey, Hinata!”

Turning around, he sees an incredibly tall zombie headed in his direction. Beneath the rotting flesh, Hinata can just barely make out a familiar face. 

“Lev!” He says with a jump in the air. 

The two waste no time in engaging in an old handshake, specifically customized for them. The two women that approach with Lev watch in confusion. 

“Oh, I recognize you! Little red number ten!” Haiba Alisa says with a snap of her finger. 

She is dressed in all holographic material, from her shoes to her miniskirt to her geometrical crop top. Her hair is pulled up in pigtails with metal coils around them, and her makeup is stunningly holographic as well. She leans over to the dark haired girl next to her, whose eyes pique with interest as she listens to what she has to say. 

“Ah, I know you,” she says with a cognizant smirk. The woman’s dark eyes are cool, and Hinata senses a familiarity in them he can’t quite place. 

Her black corset dress has skeleton ribs on it that shine with sequins and a wispy tulle skirt flaring out at the hips. The most interesting part of her getup is the gruesomely realistic slash in her throat, dried blood clinging to the skin of her chest in streams. Just as he is about to ask for her name, a caped figure walks in front of him towards her. 

“Here, is this the right one?” He asks begrudgingly, holding out a tube of lipstick towards her face. 

Even over the music that seems to only be getting louder as more people arrive, Hinata’s ears immediately pick up on the owner of the disgruntled voice. Who else would be so rude as to just barge straight into the middle of a conversation? He tries to keep his composure cool as he waits for the interaction to end, watching as the mystery woman whispers at him as she takes the lipstick. 

“Ah, thanks so much Tobio!” She says in a louder voice after leaning back from her whispering stance. “You’re almost as good a brother as Levochska!” 

Kageyama doesn’t answer her. He turns around immediately, his eyes instantly locking onto Hinata’s. A roaring wind rushes through Hinata’s stomach and out of his throat, an audible gasp escaping his lips. The eyes that he is peering into look scarier than he’s ever seen them before, rimmed in thick black shadows. Even in the darkened strobelite affected room, he can sense the intensity behind the narrowed eyes. 

“Shouldn’t you be practicing?” He asks with a scowling smirk. He is also dressed in a vampire outfit, holding a box of strawberry milk in his hand. 

“It’s you who should be practicing,” Hinata immediately fires back, blood instantly flaring. 

“Yeah? You really think playing around in the sand for two years really helped all that much?” 

“Guess we’ll see on the court next month, huh?” 

Without realizing, the two had been inching closer in proximity to each other. As Hinata puffs up at Kageyama with an inhale, preparing for the next verbal assault, he feels as his head empties in reaction to the sight of the other man’s skin. 

He has been dying to touch it for years now. 

Moments of memories spring up in his brain, visualizing every time their hands accidentally brushed or their sides touched while sitting next to each other on a bus ride. Even that contact was enough to fuel Hinata with residual energy for days. 

“Guess so…” Kageyama says with a sip from his straw. He glances downward. “Your cape is too short.”

“Well, you don’t even have fangs,” Hinata snarks back. Truly, the energy of the conversation just keeps getting more adverse. 

“They’re in my pocket,” he says as he pulls out plastic vampire teeth. They glow in the dim lighting. 

“Haha you’re like an old man vampire with dentures.” Hinata can’t help but laugh at his analogy. 

Hinata’s vision continues to tunnel as his eyes slit even further, both of them staring intently at the other. At the exact same time, they turn to their respective parties and aggressively ask, “Who do you think makes a better vampire?!” 

No one is there on either side to answer; at some point during their squabble, their friends had ditched them. They look back at each other with shoulders slumped in bemusement. Hinata chuckles softly at the ground, feeling a bit embarrassed for getting swept away. 

As Kageyama opens his mouth to say something else, a voice comes on over the speakers and interrupts him. 

“What’s up, party people?!” The ending of the sentence echoes into a fade as a maniacal laugh track plays over the surround sound. 

Kuroo is standing behind the soundboard next to Kenma with a microphone, beckoning as the crowd roars in response. There are at least over fifty people milling around in different costumes, but Hinata is not good enough at estimating quantities to be sure. Either way, there were enough people to create quite a bit of clamor. 

Kuroo basks in the noise until it dies down, bringing the mic back to his mouth as it does. 

“If you’re here tonight, it’s because I know and love you. Except for that guy,” he says as he points at someone not too far from the stage. “Who the fuck are you?”

The party guests laugh with Kuroo as he retracts, “Just kidding, Daishou.” 

Daishou Suguru’s face remains serene with just a slight twitch of his mouth as he holds up his middle finger toward Kuroo. The devil horns on his head tilt back as he takes a drink from the black cup he’s holding, middle finger still raised. 

Kenma continues to play with the sound as Kuroo continues his spiel, pressing different buttons at different cues. Hinata and Kageyama watch in mesmerization, completely distracted from their earlier dispute. 

As an afterthought, Kuroo announces, “Oh, also, the punch is spiked. I forgot to put a sign but the bowl has spikes on it so I figured that was enough.” 

Hinata looks down at his nearly empty cup with a frown. 

“Oh, you drink now, too?” Kageyama asks, his attention facing back toward Hinata. “You really do want to lose, don’t you?”

Hinata points a stern finger at Kageyama, but comes up with nothing to say back. He lets out a breath in defeat, “You’re right, this is really bad.” 

“Relax, it was a joke. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” There’s a different inflection behind his eyes now, but his expression is still just as hard as ever. 

“Kageyama! You actually came?!” Sugawara swoops into their pocket of the crowded living room. 

“Sugawara-san,” Kageyama greets him with a courteous bow, his face instantly softening at his approach. 

Something about seeing the softening of his features enrages Hinata deep in his core. He watches as Kageyama talks to Sugawara with respect and deference. It strikes him as incredibly unfair. 

Without saying anything, Hinata does a 180 degree turn and marches away. His eyes are narrowed as he grumbles to no one but himself. 

“ _ Oh, hey Hinata! How’re you?  _ Is that so hard? Must be.  _ Shouldn’t you be practicing?  _ Ugh, fuck off.” 

As the party progresses, so does the unruliness. Bokuto attempts to crowd surf once, belly flopping directly to the floor as the guests disperse. He stands up almost instantly, his fists raised high as if he just achieved a victory. The drunken party goers cheer for him amorously. Kuroo finally gets Kenma to wear a cat ear headband after a lot of persistence. 

Everywhere he goes around the house he seems to be able to catch a glimpse of Kageyama in a group, either talking or listening. Since when has he been good in social situations like this? Hinata finds himself unable to stop watching at times. The easy smile that plays on Kageyama’s lips is enticing, even if it’s not for Hinata. The eyes that crinkle in the dim hall lighting seem to sparkle even at a distance, and they sometimes slide over to Hinata curiously. 

Every time it happens and their eyes connect, a striking force hits Hinata in the stomach that causes him to seek escape. Pretending he was taking a drink, hopping quickly behind a group of party guests, or just plain running away are his weapons of choice. 

This time, he ducks into a hallway that is almost empty. Three men sit on the floor next to each other, leaning against the wall and talking in a familiar manner. Hinata joins the trio trepidatiously, not wanting to intervene on an intimate moment. 

“Hinata!” Kuroo, Bokuto, and Daichi all greet at once in a strange harmony. Kuroo let’s the end of his part stretch out in a deep note, spreading his arms out jovially. 

All three of their faces are red, and their arm movements seem slowed. As Kuroo let’s his arms fall, he slides against the wall and into Daichi’s shoulder. 

“Is it bedtime?” Kuroo asks as he nuzzles into Daichi’s shoulder. 

“It’s only like 9:30, ya bitch baby,” Daichi responds, not moving to shrug him away. 

“What did you just call me?” Kuroo asks in shock as he shoots up to a straighter position, his jaw drops. 

“Bitch baby!” Bokuto shouts in place of Daichi. He has slid down the wall as well, but ends up with his back on the floor and legs dangling over Daichi’s lap. 

Hinata sits down against the wall across from them, a less-than-silent observer as he laughs at everything they say. The three former captains have a lot of history between them, and Hinata enjoys bearing witness to some of it. 

Bokuto sits up suddenly, the goggles on his head crooked. He looks as though the most brilliant idea has just flashed before his eyes. 

“I’m gonna call him.”

“Don’t,” Kuroo says immediately, in a dry and bored tone. 

“Why should I listen to you?” Bokuto retorts, patting at the pockets in his lab coat in search of his phone. “You have your ex on speed dial.”

“Akaashi isn’t your ex, he’s your wet dream that never happened,” Kuroo explains, waving around the hand that is hanging onto his empty cup. “You’re just gonna embarrass yourself.”

Hinata reflects on the level of shame that would be required to embarrass Bokuto, recent events considered. Maybe it’s a different scale when it comes to Akaashi-san.  _ Aww, Bokuto and Akaashi-san?,  _ Hinata thinks to himself as a rush of sweetness overwhelms him. 

“God, you’re right. Okay, what about just like a casual text?” Bokuto’s search for his cell phone is still ongoing, lifting his legs and looking under them as he speaks. 

“You’ll put too many words,” Daichi says, fighting a hiccup. 

“Aha!” Bokuto exalts in victory as he finds his phone on the floor; not before taking off his lab coat and standing up completely. “Okay, no text. What about snapchat? I can’t fuck that up.” 

Kuroo hums in thought as he tries to take a drink from his empty cup, frowning down at it when it supplies him with nothing. “Okay, but pass it by us before you send it.” 

Bokuto takes a breath to concentrate as he fixes his costume back in place, holding his phone out in front of him and smiling. 

“Drop this a little,” Daichi suggests, tugging down at the front of Bokuto’s lab coat to expose more of his chest. “There ya go.” 

“Okay,” Bokuto says after a moment of typing and applying stickers. “How’s this?”

Taking the phone and examining it, Kuroo busts out into laughter. He reads, “Happy Halloween! I miss you every day and wish you were here. Love, Bokuto.” Looking back up at his friend, he says, “Are you fucking serious? First of all, it sounds like a letter my grandma wrote to my grandpa during the war…” 

“And secondly, you can’t even see your face!” Daichi interjects, grabbing the phone from Kuroo’s hand. He taps on it a few times. “There!”

“No, you have to take out the ‘miss you’ part,” Kuroo says, seizing the phone back and making his own edits. 

“Why? How will he know?” Daichi asks in a serious, almost child-like tone. 

“He’s not supposed to! You guys will scare him away!” Kuroo fights away Daichi and Bokuto’s attempts to take the phone back from him.

“Tell him I love him,” Bokuto says from behind Daichi’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, tell him he loves him,” Daichi agrees. 

“There,” Kuroo says with a final flourishing tap. “Sent. It just says Happy Halloween with a ghost emoji.”

“Boring,” Daichi says with a slight groan. 

“Daichi, you were just agreeing with me five seconds ago… Oh shit, he opened it.”

The three men collectively gasp, all leaning in to look at the small screen. They stare in silence for a bit as they wait, the silence shattered by Bokuto shouting, “HE REPLIED?” 

“Open it, open it!” Daichi is still sandwiched between Bokuto and Kuroo, the space getting smaller as the scenario continues. 

“You press and  _ hold _ , dumbass,” Kuroo commentates as he watches Bokuto fumble with the app. 

“I got it, shut up! Oh my god, he’s so pretty. What now?” 

“What did he say?” Kuroo asks. “Try and keep the conversation going.” 

“He just said ‘hey’ with an exclamation point and a pumpkin emoji,” Bokuto says in a helpless tone. 

“Wow, no one’s ever started a conversation like that before.” Kuroo’s voice is deadpan as he wiggles away from Daichi’s side to find the space to stand. “I’m gonna go get a top off and probably get lost on my way back. Catch you guys later.” 

“Hinata, what do you think?” Bokuto asks. 

“Oh, I don’t know how much I can help,” Hinata replies, scratching the back of his neck and looking to the side. The collar of his cape is starting to grow itchy. 

“You’re so charming though,” Bokuto insists, shuffling over to him and shoving his phone toward his hand. 

“No, I think I’m just as clueless as you.” Hinata pushes the phone away. “Like, literally, I’m in your exact situation.” 

“Ohh?” Bokuto’s voice raises pitch with his curiosity. 

Daichi has moved over to the other side of the hall as well now, both sets of eyes looking at Hinata with an amused glimmer. The group of three are blocking half of the path now.

“Kageyama is so hot and cold sometimes, I don’t ever understand what’s going on in his head. It’s like, one day he’s texting me and we’re having a nice conversation, then suddenly he ghosts me for weeks. I thought for a really long time he did that stuff because I was bad at hiding myself, even back then. I knew if I ever told him I was gay, he’d probably stop talking to me forever so I never told him. And then I found out that was never even the problem, and yet he still does it...” 

The floodgates have been opened. Even after his rant, he still feels full of resentful energy. Nothing tastes more bitter than unrequited feelings. 

“Maybe he’s just like that,” Daichi says softly, his eyes swimming with emotion behind circular glasses. 

“Yeah, I guess… But that’s not how you act towards someone you like, is it?” Hinata’s shoulders slump even further. 

“Depends who he’s getting advice from,” he answers in a strange key, leaning back onto his arm and tipping his plastic cup toward his lips. He looks away in thought for a moment before his eyes slide back over to Hinata. “Look, just don’t give up, okay?” 

“Um, okay guys? Back to me and Akaashi?” Bokuto waves his hand as he speaks. “I don’t want him to think I left him on read. This is the first time I’ve talked to him in a long time.” 

“Why so?” Daichi asks, turning his body and attention back to Bokuto. 

“I dunno… He just got busy with work, and I did too, and we just kind of drifted… Then it just got harder and harder to send that first text.” Bokuto looks at his screen with his thumbs hovering above it, face bleak. “I just don’t want to fuck anything up.” 

“Being yourself won’t fuck anything up. Be a little patient with him, but make sure he knows you’re available. When the time seems right, tell him how you feel.” The wisdom seems to be overflowing out of Daichi in Hinata’s eyes. 

“Ask him what he’s up to,” Hinata suggests. “Keep the conversation flowing. You’re great with words, Bokuto-san!”

“Really, you think so? I do have an extended vocabulary!” The confidence boost is coloring in Bokuto’s cheeks back to their normal shade. 

“Extensive,” Daichi corrects naturally. 

“Snapchat is free, Daichi,” Bokuto responds back, thinking he had said ‘expensive.’ 

“ _ Found you! _ ” Sugawara’s voice snags everyone’s attention as he swoops in, landing on Daichi’s lap to give him a deep kiss. 

Even though he is disoriented by the sudden impact, his arms hold fast around Sugawara to catch his fall. 

“Oh, hey,” Daichi says in small surprise as Sugawara finally pulls away. 

“Yooou…” Sugawara says with lazy lips, bopping him on the nose with his finger. 

He leans back in and sprinkles kisses all over Daichi’s neck and cheek, eliciting a giggle from him.

Daichi tilts his head to guard his neck as he says, “Suga, cut it out.”

“Hmm, call me Draco,” he responds as he leans back in, stopped short by Daichi’s extended arms. 

“ _ Okay, _ ” he says as he pushes Sugawara off of his lap, laughing uncomfortably. “You are  _ wasted _ .”

Sugawara lands with a  _ thump, _ sighing in defeat as he raises his hands in defense. “I’ve only had like…” Suga begins counting on his fingers, “Three?”

“Drinks? That sounds about right.” Daichi puts an arm around his fiancé’s waist and leans into his side. 

“No idea what you’re insinin-insinininu-... insinuating here, but I feel attacked.” Sugawara’s face is red as he stumbles over his words. 

“I’m just saying you’re a lightweight, dear.” 

“Me?!” Sugawara straightens up instantly, wagging a finger at Daichi. “I can drink you under the table, easy peasy. Pfft- _ hahaha _ , that sounds kind of dirty, doesn’t it? Under the table? What’re you doing down there, huh?”

“Ignore him, there’s nothing I can do at this point,” Daichi says with a shrug, denying culpability. Sugawara continues to tug at his robes and kiss his cheek. 

“Ahaha it’s okay,” Hinata says with a slight lisp from his fangs. 

“Are Tsukishima and Yamaguchi here?” Daichi asks with sincere curiosity. 

“Yeah, Yachi too. Actually, I haven’t seen any of them in a while,” Hinata admits with a sudden twinge of wonder. 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye to you,” he says back with a shocked gasp as Sugawara finds his earlobe just before being shoved away again. Keeping his eyes on Hinata, he says, “If you see them before me tell them I'd love to catch up with them.”

“Will do…”

Looking to his right, Hinata sees that Bokuto has sunk back onto the floor. His face is lit up by the phone he is holding above it, intently typing with his thumbs. He has completely tapped out of the group’s conversation and is entirely invested in his conversation with Akaashi. Looking back over to Daichi and Sugawara, he notices Daichi’s attention has slipped away as well; a softness in his eyes as he stares at Sugawara and tucks his hair behind his ear. He seems to be behaving more now that he has Daichi’s full attention on him. 

Hinata stands up and makes his exit, getting half-interested replies to his farewells. The escapism of the hallway fades behind him as he walks back into the party. Like heat seeking missiles, his eyes glance around rapidly until they land on their target; two dark shadowed eyes stare back at him from across the crowd. 

Alone against the wall, Kageyama casts his eyes downward as he is caught staring. He pretends to be very interested in the strings that cinch his cape together, holding one at the end and picking at it. 

Two years of separation had seen a lot of change in both of them, but this familiar vision of Kageyama crashes into Hinata like a wave. He doesn’t even tell his feet to move before he realizes he’s walking toward him. It’s as if this pathway was carved specifically for him to make his way to Kageyama. Even with this certainty, his heart pounds louder with every step. 

“Hey,” he says, his voice giving out immediately into a soft whisper. 

“What?” Kageyama asks sincerely, his voice much louder to combat the music. 

“I said ‘hey!’” Hinata says much louder, and closer to his ear. “Are you sticking around for much longer?”

“Maybe. I don’t live too far from here, I can leave a bit later.”

Hinata draws the mental image of leaving and going back to his place with him. Just the allusion that his room and bed aren’t all that far away gives Hinata plenty to work with to create a graphic picture. 

“You wanna see some cats?” He casually slips in, as if he weren’t just mentally undressing the man in front of him. 

“Yes,” Kageyama responds instantly, using the same breath as his exhale. His face is soft, and his eyes are sparkling without the need to widen them. 

The purity of his expression nearly knocks Hinata backwards, but he maintains himself. This is the type of sincerity Kageyama usually reserves for volleyball, or people he greatly respects. With a stammered smile, Hinata does something very brave; he gently clasps his fingers around Kageyama’s wrist and pulls him away from the wall. 

Kageyama watches curiously as Hinata doesn’t look away immediately. He can’t help but let his eyes linger on him for just a little while, like a strong glue had stuck them there. When he finally manages to turn his head to the direction he is walking, he can’t fight the goofy grin that breaks out on his face. 

His cheeks hurt from trying to keep the corners of his mouth down as he tows Kageyama around a corner and down a hallway, stopping in front of the appropriate door. He finally releases Kageyama’s wrist, but still feels the heat from his skin long after the contact is broken. He holds a finger up to his lips as he cracks the door, mimicking the foot motions he has seen Kuroo do earlier. 

Immediately, Hinata feels a fluffy force at his foot that he scoots back. Side-stepping inside, he leaves the door cracked for Kageyama to follow. Corralling the three cats by squatting and holding his arms out as barriers, Hinata feels like a professional cat herder. 

After the thunk of the door closing, Hinata senses the approach and moves to the side, giving Kageyama space with the cats. 

Mario immediately darts away at the presence of a stranger, his tail poofing out as his fur stands on end. Isabelle and Zelda are less afraid, but still cautious. Hinata watches as Kageyama’s fingers tremble slightly as Zelda sniffs them trepidatiously. There’s a sweet look of excited anticipation mixed with uncertain wariness on Kageyama’s face, a bramble of emotions that Hinata wishes he could pry into. 

“I think she likes you,” Hinata encourages. “Try and pet her.”

Just as Kageyama’s fingers make contact with her fur, a loud bang comes from behind the door and sends her scurrying away in alertness. She stops just before disappearing behind the couch and looks back toward the door, ears sticking straight up. Kageyama lets his hand drop. The door flies open. 

“Oh, this isn’t the restroom,” Atsumu says casually as he walks into the room, glancing around. “Oh hey, Hinata.” 

“No! Shut the door!” Hinata shouts in vain, witnessing as Mario flits around Atsumu’s legs and through the open doorway. 

“Oh shit, there’s cats in here?” Atsumu’s voice trails off as Hinata dashes past him into the hallway. 

If Mario winds up outside with all of these people milling about, who knows what instincts will take over for him. Hinata has to find him quickly and quietly; he doesn’t want to put Kenma through any of the stress this would cause him. The adrenaline pumps through him, letting his eyes laser focus with every glance. The lighting is simply too dim and scattered with flashes to help him find the small fuzzy creature. His chest begins to fill with uneasiness with every step, weaving through partygoers with increasing speed. 

When he reaches the living room, he sees a familiar disturbance in the fog covered floor. Following the trail to the serving table, he swiftly pulls up the tablecloth and grabs Mario in the same instant. A heavy breath falls from his mouth as he grips the squirming ball of fur and needles in his arms. 

Glancing around as he makes his way back, Hinata makes eye contact with a worried Kenma. He slows down to let him catch up without stopping in his tracks. 

“Give him to me.” 

“Ah, sorry Kenma.” Hinata hands over the kitten, who instantly settles into his owner’s arms. 

“Are the other two…?” Kenma’s question fades as he opens the door to the playroom, his eyes unamused at what they find. 

Kageyama is sitting on the couch with a scowl and crossed arms, glaring at Atsumu. Atsumu seems oblivious to the glare as he dangles a feather in front of a playful Isabelle, leaning against a cat tree salaciously. Hinata’s eyes immediately are drawn to the arc of his bare back. 

“I’m leaving.” Kageyama stands and walks across the room. He stops in front of Hinata, waiting for him to move. 

Hinata is tightly guarding the open space of the cracked door, defending it from letting out more feline escapees. As his eyes find Kageyama’s, he sees a cold anger that chills him to the core. Their eyes hold for only a few milliseconds, but Hinata can see every shift of emotion that flickers in Kageyama’s eyes during the minuscule timeframe. Fury to interest, credulity to impatience, and finally... despair. They glance downward toward Hinata’s lips at the last moment, before he brushes past him to disappear down the hallway. 

As if a rough punch had hit him in the chest, Hinata feels a sudden internal ache that starts at his core. He scrunches his brows in deep consideration of what just happened. 

“Can all of you leave now?” Kenma asks with his back facing Hinata. His shoulders seem tense, Mario’s whiskered snout is peaking over one. 

Atsumu and Isabelle had been watching the whole exchange between Kageyama and Hinata, the feather hovering still and unnoticed between them. He straightens up at Kenma’s request and makes his exit quick and polite, glancing at Hinata on his way out. 

“Kenma, I’m sorry, I…”

“Please just go, Hinata.” 

“Okay so everyone is mad at me now?” Hinata expresses to no one in particular as he shuts the door between him and Kenma. Atsumu is leaning against the wall in wait. 

“I’m not mad,” Atsumu replies helpfully, catching up to Hinata’s stride. “Not sure what Tobio’s issue is…”

The mention of Kageyama sends a wave of chilled serenity through Hinata’s veins, weighing down his feet and stopping him from moving further down the hallway. “I don’t want to talk about him.” 

“Great, me neither.”

Atsumu stops suddenly and places a hand on the wall, his arm hovering right next to Hinata’s face. The sudden movement catches Hinata by surprise, making him flinch slightly in reaction. His eyes follow the muscular arm that is now barring him from the rest of the party, lingering on the bare chest it is connected to. A glance upward reveals a smug expression lined with the ferocious charm of a bit lower lip. An awkward and breathy chuckle escapes from Hinata’s mouth as he asks, “What are you doing?” 

Anyone watching can see the obvious body language Atsumu is exuding, but Hinata still isn’t so sure.  _ He’s just like that,  _ repeats in his head. 

There’s a click of silence as the distantly faded music shifts to the next track, and Hinata feels as his next breath gets caught in his chest. He watches as Atsumu’s lips curl with amusement and he leans in closer, breathing into his ear, “What’s it look like I’m doing?” 

The vibrations of his words seep into Hinata’s ear, the epicenter of a shiver that quickly turns into a spreading warmth that reaches his fingertips. He can now feel the heat radiating from Atsumu’s chest as he presses his back as far into the wall as possible, a fire blazing through his blood in reaction. It springs upward into his cheeks as Atsumu uses his other hand to grip his chin, steadying his gaze onto Hinata’s eyes. There’s a tantalizing edge to his tone as Atsumu asks, “Wanna find some privacy?” 

Up until this point, Hinata has been entirely uncertain of what to do with his hands as they tremble against his sides. Reading his expression along with the velvety words, he is completely certain of Atsumu’s intentions now. He reaches up to grip the wrist next to his face, returning the flirtatious look. “Sure. I know where the guest rooms are.” 

The inflection in Atsumu’s eyes instantly changes to eager anticipation as he watches Hinata step away from the wall. 

Hinata leads him down the hallway to some stairs that curve on their way up to the second floor. His shoulders are tightened, but not from tension, as he feels the eyes on his back with every step. The upstairs hallway is completely deserted of any party guests or decorations. 

The first door he comes to is locked, meaning it’s already been taken by someone staying the night. Atsumu follows close behind, and Hinata can feel the gravity of his hips as he stops and Atsumu bumps into him. 

His breath is heavy as he turns around to face him; and when Atsumu doesn’t move from the close proximity, he finds his mouth just centimeters from a well-chiseled… and glittery chest?

“Where’d that glitter come from?” Hinata asks with a curious furrow in his eyebrows. 

“I had a run in with a fairy,” Atsumu says, getting closer and placing both hands on either side of Hinata’s hips. 

Without much thinking involved, Hinata reacts to the touch in a forward motion. He finds himself between Atsumu and the hallway’s wall within an instant, aggressively kissing his mouth, jaw and neck. The hormones rushing through his body flow through his fingertips as his hands trace the ridges of Atsumu’s back. Between heavy breaths and heavier touches, he finds the willpower to inch them further down the hall to a door that he opens clumsily. 

Nearly falling into the room, as they continue on connected, he falls onto the bed instead. Atsumu has hold of his hands now, and he raises them above Hinata’s head, pinning him down as he lightly bites on the exposed part of his neck. The sensation sends a shock of excitement throughout Hinata’s nerve endings, an unexpected yelp of pleasure escaping his lips.

Atsumu’s lips curl in amusement as he chuckles softly, elongating a shush as he pulls away with a finger pressed against his lips. There’s a glimmer in his eyes that seems almost dangerous, if one were to figure out a way to touch it. 

“I need to lock the door.” He releases Hinata entirely as he backs away from the bed, still looking down at Hinata with a hungry look. 

Sitting up and watching him walk to the door, Hinata considers what he is doing here. The lack of respect for his friend’s house, the people still downstairs that could be looking for him, and the body that is so very nice but so… incorrect. As he looks Atsumu up and down while tugging at the strings on his incredibly crooked vampire cape, Hinata admits to himself that he knows exactly what he’s doing. He could blame the cup of spiked punch he had accidentally partaken in, but that was hours ago. He is stone cold sober as he unbuttons the frilly white victorian shirt he is wearing, letting it fall off of his shoulders and reveal the plain white tank top underneath. 

As Atsumu returns to the edge of the bed, Hinata stops him from lowering back down by placing a hand on his abdomen. He lets his hands travel around to Atsumu’s back, toying with the edges of the denim shorts. Hinata digs his fingers into the waistline and pulls Atsumu forward, rubbing his face into the denim. At this point, the outline of Atsumu’s dick is easy to find and gently open his mouth over. Hinata can feel the size beneath the lips he drags against the raised length. His fingers begin to feel frantically impatient as they make their way around to the front of Atsumu’s shorts, tugging downward at the material as they do. 

Hinata looks up at Atsumu as both of his hands find the button, finding himself stopped by Atsumu’s hand. He lifts Hinata’s chin, looking down at him with that same ferocious hunger, and chuckles. Rubbing his bottom lip with his thumb, he says, “I appreciate the enthusiasm, but, uh… Those teeth kinda scare me.” 

The tip of his thumb pokes at the plastic fang, reminding Hinata of their existence. 

“Oh,” Hinata says with a nervous laugh, leaning away to cover his mouth with his fingertips. He confesses, “I don’t actually think I know how to take these off.”

“You didn’t read the instructions?” Atsumu asks incredulously as he takes a seat next to him. 

“I probably did but I can’t remember.”

He chuckles as he pulls his phone out of his back pocket. “What’s the brand?”

Hinata leans over to look at the screen as they research the brand and removal instructions. The heat from Atsumu’s skin feels nice against Hinata’s chin and shoulder. 

“Okay, let’s find a sink.” 

In the vulnerability of the moment, Hinata finds it easy to allow Atsumu to care for him in this way. At the upstairs bathroom, he turns on the tap to lukewarm water before washing his hands. Hinata’s jaw gives way instantly for his fingertips to grip his elongated canines. 

“Let me know if this hurts and I’ll stop,” he says gently as he tugs forward. 

Hinata feels as the resin breaks and the plastic is disconnected from it, nothing painful just a slight shock of force. His eyes widened in reaction to it, causing Atsumu to jerk his hand back with the plastic fang in it. 

“Ah, I’m sorry.” 

“No, no, it’s fine.” Hinata takes it from him and discards it into the trash bin. He guides Atsumu’s hand back to his mouth. “Do the other one.” 

Knowing further what to expect, Hinata’s reaction is less severe the second time. His tongue immediately finds his canines, rubbing over the bits of resin that are still stuck there. The alien feeling is easily taken care of with the travel toothbrush he had been carrying in his pocket all night. 

“Well that was the sexiest dental work I’ve ever done,” Atsumu says as he leans against the wallpapered bathroom wall, crossing his arms in a casual manner. 

Hinata can see through glances in the mirror that he is being watched with keen eyes as he finishes brushing his teeth. After a thorough rinse, he turns back around with a sheepish smile. 

“Guess I totally ruined the moment, huh?” He has his hands resting on the edge of the sink, leaning back on them to tighten the shoulders that his tank top is revealing. Hinata knows how his body works. 

“Are you kidding?” Atsumu wastes no time eliminating the space between them, his hands immediately drawn to Hinata’s hips. “Hinata, I will literally die if I don’t hook up with you right now.” 

A scoff escapes from Hinata as he looks to the left, his eyes drifting back to the magnetism of Atsumu’s stare within seconds. The chemistry between their bodies is irrefutable; his hands find themselves traveling up Atsumu’s forearms on their own. The light touch smoothing over biceps, the curve of his shoulder, the crook of his neck. Just a gentle pulling motion brings Atsumu down to him at full force, knocking him back into the sink. 

Their lips connect with a fierceness, and Hinata suddenly feels weightless as he is lifted and placed onto the sink. He wraps his legs around Atsumu’s back, gripping as tightly as he can to get the other body as close to him as possible. The searing fire that flows through his abdomen is engorged by the contact, growing even further as Atsumu nibbles on his neck again. 

Hinata giggles between breaths, pushing Atsumu away gently. “Get me down from here, I’m gonna break this.” 

“But we could just do it right here,” Atsumu says back with a thrust of his hips. 

Hinata’s body reacts by trying to straighten itself out, and he hits the back of his head on the mirror. “Ow.”

“Okay, you’re right.” Atsumu is the one laughing now as he pulls Hinata back toward him, patting the back of his head. 

Hinata’s feet find the floor once more, and they move with purpose through the hallway and back to the room. They leave the floor again when they find the bed, but they will not be done moving for some time to come. As Atsumu and Hinata explore each other on the bed, they make several turns and positions of entanglement. 

Atsumu seems to want to be the dominant one, which is fine with Hinata; he is as versatile in the bedroom as he is on the court. Removed articles of clothing scatter the floor, adding Hinata’s pants and tanktop and Atsumu’s denim shorts to the pile. With nothing but underwear between them, Hinata can feel the heat that he craves just beneath his hips as he straddles Atsumu’s lap with gentle pelvic motions. 

It’s almost unbearable for Hinata to keep going like this, so he breaks contact to move to lower territories and pulls down on Atsumu’s cotton boxers. With an arguably clean mouth, Hinata finds his craving satisfied as Atsumu lets out a warm moan of pleasure. A hand intertwines its fingers into Hinata’s hair as his head bobs to a rhythm, feeling the thick warmth all the way to the back of his throat. He uses every muscle of his tongue and esophagus to put a suction like pressure on the length in his mouth, leaving them tightened as he pulls his head backwards. 

“Fuuuck,” Atsumu says with a breathy break in the middle of his elongated word. He points his chin to the ceiling with his head against the wall.

From Hinata’s point of view he can watch as Atsumu’s chest rises and falls with each breath growing deeper. Atsumu’s legs are around his neck now as he moves his hands up to his chest, the body beneath him shivering as his palm grazes a nipple. With as domineering as Atsumu had been at the start, he finds himself whimpering for mercy under Hinata’s experienced touch. Slowly pulling his mouth away, he smirks at the way Atsumu’s legs are twitching. He has become like a putty beneath his roaming hands, moving in whichever way Hinata whims him to. 

Hinata lines his body back up with Atsumu, using his knees as support as he hovers just above Atsumu’s hardened cock. Hands roam up his thighs to the line of his underwear as he gyrates his hips just enough to drive the other man wild; Atsumu rips at the material with greedy intent, working over every bit of flesh that is revealed as he removes the article of clothing entirely. 

Atsumu flips him over onto his back, Hinata’s head hitting the pillow with a heavy force. Leaning back in to hover over the skin between Hinata’s ear and jaw line, Atsumu says, “I’ve been waiting all night to get you alone, you know.” The breathy words roll over Hinata’s skin, raising goosebumps on their way. He is already hard from the heavy touching, but the added words excite him even further and he finds his hips bucking upward. 

A cold air hits his skin as Atsumu breaks contact to lean over the edge of the bed. He picks up his shorts and fishes a condom out of the back pocket. 

“It’s not weird I brought this, is it?” He asks as he brings back his warmth to Hinata’s chest. 

“No, it’s smart,” Hinata says earnestly, inspecting the pre-lubricated condom package he is handed. 

He can feel the anticipation rising in his abdomen as he opens the package and uses it on Atsumu, finding a comfortable position to lie in. Of course, as soon as Atsumu gets situated himself, Hinata finds it impossible to stay still. The expected pain is eased quickly as he finds himself drifting away into the night with Atsumu. Scratches and pulled hair are among the unexpected things that Hinata hasn’t experienced before but add to every ripple of pleasure going through his body. His lips are sucked raw by his bed partner before they are finished, finding themselves in several different positions. 

There is absolutely no room for any thoughts as Hinata falls asleep next to the body that has warmed his skin nicely; still doing so as it wraps its arms around him like a strong blanket. One thought still manages to creep its way into the euphoric haze of his brain, just before slumber takes him.

_ I wish these were Kageyama’s arms.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be less frequent now but I've got plans on plans. Hope you enjoyed the spooky chapter!


	4. Sex & Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, you read the last chapter. Let's start to unpack that.

With the morning, a new sense of clarity springs into the forefront of Hinata’s brain the instant he wakes up. The ceiling above him offers little condolences for the regret he is feeling as he blinks absently at it. A twist of his neck to the right reveals the silhouette of a deeply breathing Atsumu, laying on his right side facing away from Hinata. To his left, a wall. 

With limited options, he removes his blanket and uses his feet and butt to inchworm his way to the foot of the bed as stealthily as possible. He slides to the floor when he reaches the end, peeking back at the sleeping figure as he does. 

Gently gathering his clothing, he puts them on as quietly as possible, leaving the frilly button up draping over one of his arms. There’s a rustle and some mumbling from the bed as Atsumu rolls to his other side, his breathing evening back out as soon as he reaches the new position. 

Hinata keeps his breath hitched as he leans down to pick up his shoes with his fingers. It’s only when he reaches the hallway landing and the door is closed quietly that he lets his breath out in a staggered sigh.

As he walks toward the stairs, he passes a mirror and catches a glimpse of himself; the startling purple color stopping him in his tracks, he examines the markings on his chest. He turns around, eyes traveling down the red lines on his shoulder. His memory replicates the feeling of the scratch from top to bottom, stirring dead butterflies in his stomach. 

He lingers in thought for a moment, knowing that if he were to just turn around and get back into bed that he could easily ensue an instant replay. He shakes his head to clear the thought as if it’s an etch-a-sketch. 

He drops his belongings to the floor and quickly whirls his overshirt around his shoulders, looping his arms into the sleeves. He doesn’t have time to button it. Using his toes to straighten his shoes, he steps into them and wiggles each heel until it slides in. 

His hair is just as much a mess as his insides. He uses the mirror to watch as his fingers brush through the dried up gel before rushing down the stairs. Crushed empty cups and fallen decorations litter the floor of the hallway leading to the living room. In the stark morning light, the living room has lost all of its spooky ambience. A few die-hards are scattered about the floor and are passed out in various positions. Hinata recognizes one as Bokuto cuddled up with his head on an over-stressed balloon. 

An elongated yawn rounds the corner and enters the living room with Hinata, bearing Kuroo as its face. His costume makeup is smeared to the point it’s hardly there anymore, and one neck bolt dangles by a thread of modeling putty. 

“‘Sup, Hinata?” He greets sleepily as he lifts a few cardboard pizza box lids, pulling out a slice when he finally finds a box that’s not empty. 

Hinata notices several hickeys in different sizes on his neck as he turns back toward him with the pizza in his mouth. So he wasn’t the only one who had hooked up at the party. 

“Morning!” Hinata greets back in his standard cheerful manner. “That was such an awesome party!”

“You certainly did seem to enjoy it, didn’t you?” Kuroo makes a vague gesture toward his own chest, waving the half-eaten pizza slice in the air. 

Hinata tugs his shirt closed, looking down at the floor with a bemused huff instead of answering. 

“Have you seen Kenma?”

Kuroo’s shoulders slump when he hears the question. “You mean you haven’t?” 

“Not since he got super mad at me last night.” Hinata is standing with his arms crossed to ensure his shirt stays closed instead of facing the embarrassment of rebuttoning it in front of Kuroo. 

Kuroo looks at him with intrigued brows. “Who did y—.”

A spike of alertness shoots through Hinata’s chest at the same time the bang of a balloon popping happens behind him. He turns to look at the source just as Bokuto sleepily shakes his head, seconds before his delayed screaming. 

“What the fuck was that?!” He rubs the side of his cheek sullenly, an orange bit of balloon stuck in his hair. 

As soon as his wild eyes find Hinata, he scrambles upward with surprising mobility. The look on his face is urgent as he walks toward him with long strides, putting a cellphone in his hand when he reaches him. 

“Oh,” Hinata says, looking down at the familiar black brick in his hand. “Didn’t know I lost this.”

Bokuto gives him a saddened look as he opens his mouth to speak, stopped by a hand slapping his mouth and a sputtering of sounds from Kuroo. “Shut the fuck up, Bokuto.”

“But… I… have… to- _mlehh_!” Bokuto’s words are spread out by the struggle to remove Kuroo’s hand, ending with a very mature palm licking. 

“ _Ew_!” Kuroo shakes his hand as he jumps far away from a cackling Bokuto. 

As curious as he is to what Bokuto has to say, Hinata can feel his window of escape dwindling. And the last thing he wants to face right now is his problems. 

“Uh, I really have to go, I promised my mom I would help her... fix her toilet. Thank you for the party!” Hinata dashes out the front door as he finishes his last sentence, not waiting for a reply. 

The train ride home is one of great contemplation. Hinata sits with his hands on his knees, staring straight ahead with glazed eyes and a nearly slacked jaw. His shirt is still lazily unbuttoned and his hair wildly unkempt despite his earlier attempts at grooming. 

His transfixed gaze blurs slightly as he considers all of the choices he had made the night before. Among the greatest of his regrets was leaving Kageyama alone at the party in the first place, chalked up to the finite fuse that Hinata has always had when it comes to his greatest rival. But he’s an adult now, and he can think of multiple ways he could have gone about that differently. 

So focused on Kageyama and all the tiny indications he had given him, Hinata nearly forgets the biggest weakness he had shown the night prior. He chastises himself for his inability to think outside of what is right in front of him. It’s no excuse. He knows it’s not like he cheated or anything, but it really feels like it. He can’t deny that what he did was bad when the majority of his time with Atsumu he was thinking about Kageyama. 

He spirals here for a bit, finally coming back to the present moment when he feels himself beginning to drool. He wipes at his face with his sleeve as he swallows, looking around to see if anyone had seen him being embarrassing. Most of the other passengers are doing their best not to look at him at all. He decides to pull out his phone to keep his mind from wandering further into dark places. 

🔒

8:45 AM

Sunday, October 28

> **Atsumu Miya** 8:34 AM, Sun
> 
> Where did u slip away 2? 😏
> 
> **Bokuto Koutarou** 8:10 AM, Sun
> 
> hey i need to talk to you!!!
> 
> majorly important!! 💯💯💯
> 
> **Yachi Hitoka** 1:36 AM, Sun
> 
> ok, we are leaving. sorry ❗️❗️tsukki won’t wait anymore 😣
> 
> **Yachi Hitoka** 1:32 AM, Sun
> 
> Hinata are you dead?!?! where r u!!
> 
> **(16) Missed Calls**
> 
> Yachi Hitoka
> 
> **Yachi Hitoka** 12:45 AM, Sun
> 
> hey where r u we haven’t got to hang out yet 
> 
> **Kageyama Tobio** 11:45 PM, Sat
> 
> Sorry I freaked out and left like that. Can we talk soon?
> 
> **Bokuto Koutarou** 10:35 PM, Sat
> 
> 💖 FOLLOW YOUT HEART!!! 💖
> 
> **Atsumu Miya** 9:46 PM, Sat
> 
> hey did you leave? can’t find you in the crowd

  
  


Reading the message banners on his home screen is enough to exhaust him mentally. His arms feel heavy as his thumb hovers over the glass, unsure of which message to pick. Bokuto’s random and misspelled advice was sent right around the exact time Hinata needed it. Now, it’s just another sore reminder of the mistakes he has made. Atsumu is definitely too much for him to handle right now, and Yachi’s overwhelming volume of calls and texts are feeling just as hard to face. 

> **Kageyama Tobio** 11:45 PM, Sat
> 
> Sorry I freaked out and left like that. Can we talk soon?

This message gets stared at until the screen goes black from idleness, the darkness sticking directly to Hinata’s chest. Tapping it back into view, he has to have it right in front of him to believe it’s actually there. Sandwiched in between much less important messages, with a very significant time stamp, displayed in perfect quality. 

A sickening feeling hits the pit of his stomach as he swipes open the message, breathing unevenly as he types. 

  
  
  


I’m sorry too. Yes, we should talk soon. 

**Sent 8:50 AM**

  
  


After backspacing and retyping the same sentence three times, he finally hits send. Clicking his lock button to ignore the direct situation at hand, he taps the phone to his chin a few times in absent thought. The first thing that pops into his head is the photo of Kageyama from the article that was posted of him. The second thing that pops into his head is an image of Kageyama from the night before, perfectly framed in the party lights and sporting a breathtaking smile. 

When his thoughts drift toward and then pinpoint onto Kageyama, he feels like a chemical reaction is melding all of his brain cells together by buzzing against each other. Science really wasn’t his thing, but he’s fairly certain it’s the love chemical. _Love, sure. And I did that with Atsumu for what then?_

The intrusive thought burrows into his chest with razor sharp claws, and he sinks deeper into his seat. A short buzz against his chin draws back his focus to his phone. 

  
  


> **Kageyama Tobio** 8:54 AM, Sun
> 
> Are you busy today?

  
  


Anticipation pricks every nerve ending in Hinata’s skin as he reads the words, wanting to turn the trajectory of the train around. He lets his blood settle down as he talks himself through, noting the marks on his chest and back. 

  
  


Yes, I’m super busy today. 

Next weekend?

**Read 8:55 AM**

  
  
  


The three dots indicating that Kageyama is typing sends Hinata deeper into his obsessive thoughts, like cling wrap sticking to anything related to his crush. Years had passed since Kageyama had first walked past him with all of his might and vigor, sparking a deep respect inside his chest. The spark kindled a flame when he was the first to see Hinata’s potential and yelled at him across the net for it. One summer of hyper focused training later it had fueled it into something bigger, exploding with the first step he took into Karasuno’s gym and laid his unexpected eyes on a just-as-shocked Kageyama. 

Sure it was instant, but it’s not like it wasn’t a wild roller coaster ride. Several times the feeling had dampened and tried to quell since then, but it reignited with vengeance every single time Kageyama had done something that raised the internal question— _What if?_

  
  
  


8:56 AM

> Is Sunday good for you? I can make dinner and we can settle once and for all
> 
> who is really the best at Mario Kart. :)

Sure! What time?

**Read 8:57 AM**

> 6:00. 
> 
> Don’t be late or early. 

Haha okay 😄

**Read 8:57 AM**

  
  


The text messages that he is repeatedly reading cause the flame in his chest to reach record temperatures. It’s only a short scroll upwards he can find an assortment of ignored messages or short declinations. He reads the last two messages again to be sure they’re real. Kageyama Tobio is going to make dinner? For Hinata Shouyou? 

  
  
  


8:58 AM

> Did you have fun at the party last night?

  
  
  


The fun is over. His mind immediately tracks back to Atsumu’s face hovering above him, although it’s not an unpleasant sight. Cursing his dumbass horny past-self, he types out a reply so it won’t seem like he’s ignoring him. 

  
  
  


Yeah everyone’s costumes were super cool!

**Read 9:00 AM**

  
  


It would be incredibly weird to just outright confess what happened over text message, right? Does Kageyama even have the right to know when it’s not like they’re together anyway? His thoughts are interrupted by a new message. 

  
  
  


> **Atsumu Miya** 9:00 AM, Sun
> 
> Cinderella left her vampire cape by the stairs. 

  
  
  


_Shit._ Hinata lifts his arms half-heartedly to look for the cape he knows he forgot. He doesn’t bother to reply to this message, and opts to tuck away his phone completely. Once he’s back in his apartment, he spends the rest of the afternoon productively staring at the ceiling. 

  
  


*~*~*

  
  


The next day, Bokuto is waiting for him outside the locker room. He is pacing back and forth until he catches sight of Hinata and races toward him, repeating his name the entire way. 

“What’s up? How long have you been here?” Hinata asks, knowing that he himself is here early. 

“Like an hour. Hinata, I…” He stops short, but Hinata can see a lot churning behind his eyes. 

“Yeah?” 

“Did you really? With Tsum-Tsum, y’know…” Bokuto wrings his hands together as he finally spits out the words. “Do _that_.” 

“How did...” Hinata’s eyes widen at the question, his response trailing off as he thinks of every option that could have led to Bokuto finding out. _Atsumu told him? That jer-_

“I’m so sorry.” Bokuto’s blurted apology interrupts his thoughts. “It’s all my fault. I rigged the bet by accident! I didn’t know Tsum-Tsum even… I was only asking him if he wanted in on it… not like… I didn’t think he was even…”

“Wait, what?” Hinata is lost in the rambling, trying to piece together the incomplete sentences Bokuto had strewn together. “What bet?”

Bokuto suddenly seems to have suddenly run out of words, which is new for him, his eyebrows crinkled with hurt as he hears the question. After rubbing the back of his neck a few times, he finally says, “Yeah, so Kuroo had this idea… I mean, it all started when Sugawara messaged all of us that night you showed up at Spiked…”

“Sugawara? And Kuroo?” Hinata finds it hard to believe he’s any type of conversation subject for either of them. 

“Yeah, Sugawara-kun kind of told everyone you were back and that you came out! Kuroo set up a pool for people to place bets on who you’d hook up with first… Y’know, like, Kageyama or Kenma…” Bokuto’s eyes follow Hinata’s face as he speaks, but Hinata isn’t giving him much. 

“Kenma?” He asks, finally looking up with a confused brow. 

“Yeah, that was one of the options. Also, Lev I think… and Atsumu…” Bokuto’s face gets sadder as he continues on with his explanation. 

Hinata doesn’t understand how the list could be that long. He needs more information. 

“Who all made bets?” He crosses his arms now, fully into the conversation. His gym bag is still hanging across his chest. 

“Sugawara, Kuroo, Daishou, all of the Tanakas, Ushijima… um… Yaku, and others I can't remember.” Bokuto’s eyes seem genuine as he searches for the answers. “We asked Oikawa too, but he said something about ‘already winning’ but didn’t explain what that meant.” 

Hinata covers his mouth as an amused huff escapes his lips, sun soaked images of Oikawa Tooru in intimate positions back in Rio flitting through his mind. He finds his way back to the situation at hand, wondering why Bokuto is telling him all of this _now_. 

“Who did you bet on?” 

Bokuto takes a sharp breath. “You see, I believe in soulmates… and when Atsumu told me that was him, I… sort of wrote him in and placed my bet on him.”

“You’re kidding. He _knew_ about this?” Hinata still can’t believe anything he’s hearing. 

“Yeah, for a couple of weeks… Then you said all that stuff about Kageyama, and it clicked for me. Atsumu isn’t your soulmate at all. I’m starting to think he’s not even psychic.” Bokuto shrugs as he speaks, with genuine remorse on his face before he taps his chin in thought. “Although, he did win me a lot of money… Apparently everyone else placed their bets on Kageyama.” 

Hinata drops the bag he had been holding this whole time to the floor, a heavy sigh heaving from deep in his chest. 

“Sorry, sorry, maybe I shouldn’t be telling you _everything_ …” 

“There’s _more?”_ Hinata just wants this to be over so he can go to practice. 

“Nope, that’s basically it… uh…” Bokuto’s face grows uncomfortable as his eyes catch something behind Hinata. 

Turning around, he sees Atsumu approaching. He is sporting an impressive bed head as he wipes one of his eyes and yawns. He blinks a few times as Hinata stalks toward him with a fury. It feels so freeing having someone else to be mad at. 

“ _You_ ,” Hinata says once he reaches him, pointing an accusatory finger at his chest.

“Whoa,” Atsumu responds, looking everywhere but at Hinata. It’s easy when all he has to do is look straight ahead, and not down. “I think I just heard a ghost.”

Hinata falters at this, watching as Atsumu steps around him and into the locker room. Bokuto watches this as well, giving Hinata a shrug.

He’s not even sure what he wants to say to Atsumu, but his wrathful energy needs to go somewhere. Following his footsteps, Hinata finds himself at Atsumu’s locker slamming his cubby closed for attention. A few other players look at them curiously but keep to their own business. 

“You knew about the bet!” Hinata says as quietly and angrily as he can. 

“So?” Atsumu responds unabashed, giving up on the contents of his locker. He turns to face Hinata straight on. 

“Did you make money off of it too?” The question is necessary, yet still makes Hinata feel sick to his stomach. 

“What? No, I’m not a prostitute.”

“Right, ha! That’s just me.” He can’t look at Atsumu, so he looks to the floor instead. 

“Dude, chill,” Atsumu says as he reaches out toward his arm. 

Hinata jerks his arm backwards as he notices, seething in a very low voice, “You don’t ever get to touch me again.” 

Atsumu’s hand trembles a little before he lets it drop back to his side. A storm brews behind his eyes as he opens his mouth to say something, but he stops himself. Within the same few moments, the words he was about to say fade out of his eyes along with every shred of emotion. 

He jerks his arms as he aggressively unzips his gym bag, pulling out a shiny piece of black and red fabric. 

“Here.” 

The vampire cape is flung at Hinata, and he catches it against his chest. Remembering everything he thought about as he untied those strings just two nights ago, he clenches his fist around the smooth material. 

As Atsumu walks past him, he says, “Yeah, I knew about the bet. Doesn’t mean I didn’t like you. But you’ve made your position pretty clear.” 

A twinge of pain ripples in Hinata’s chest, as if an already inserted knife had just been twisted. He has absolutely nothing to say as he watches Atsumu walk across the room. 

“‘Sup, Bokuto?” Atsumu asks in a theatrically loud voice as he leans forward, pressing Bokuto back into his locker. He asks, flirtatiously, “You got any plans later?” 

Bokuto looks frantically between Atsumu and Hinata, his chin tucked against his neck as he leans as far back as possible. A noticeable blush crosses Bokuto’s face as he covers it and sinks to the floor. 

“Haha, nice one!” Shion whoops from the bench he is sitting on. “You managed to embarrass hi… Oh my god, is he crying?” 

Atsumu scoffs and walks away from Bokuto, passing Sakusa on his way out of the room. Sakusa surveys the scene with unimpressed eyes that quiver when they land on Bokuto. Still, he ignores all of them and heads directly to his locker. 

Hinata finally gains enough mobility in his legs to walk over to where Bokuto is. He is still his friend after all. A large part of Hinata hopes he can achieve the same with Atsumu somehow. He should have never tangled friendship with sex, he knows that now. He never had to worry about that back in Rio. 

“What the hell is going on?” Shion asks in a genuinely confused tone. 

“Shion, this is obviously a lover’s quarrel,” Adriah Tomas answers casually as he ties his shoelaces. 

“A WHA-...”

“Sh, sh, sh,” Meian interrupts Shion’s uproarious outburst from going any further. “Mind your own business.”

Shion remains silenced where he sits on his bench, staring straight forward in contemplation. 

“Hinata,” Meian says as he gestures for him to come over to him. 

Hinata leaves Bokuto with a comforting pat on the shoulder as he follows his captain’s orders. He asks, “Sir, yes sir?” as formally as possible. A lot of fear is rushing through his veins at the confrontation. 

“This isn’t going to affect your work as a team, is it?” His voice is calm, and the hand he has on his hip is authoritative. 

“Absolutely not,” Hinata responds swiftly. He hasn’t even gotten a chance to play a real game with them yet, and he knows his starting position is still in a period of probation. 

“Good. Try and settle these things outside of practice hours, okay?” Even though he’s scolding Hinata, there’s a kindness in his eyes. 

“Yes, of course. I am very sorry.” Hinata bows forward graciously. 

Shion is muttering under his breath to Adriah, questions like “wait, like all three of them?” being answered with short nods in affirmation. 

  
  


The beginning of the next week is filled with an awkward feeling nagging at Hinata’s chest. There’s no mistaking the glances and whispers that spread throughout the team like wildfire. Bokuto and Atsumu seem unfazed by it, which eases Hinata’s uncomfortableness slightly. Other than that, practice goes unhindered, and eventually the whispering goes away. 

It’s Wednesday, and the team is piling onto a bus for an away practice match when Meian stops Hinata and Bokuto. “Just so you know… The sleeping arrangements were made a week and a half ago.”

“Okay!” Bokuto replies as if he completely understands. 

Hinata simply nods respectfully before loading onto the bus. It’s not until they reach the hotel later that night that he processes what Meian had been trying to tell them. 

He drops his bag on the foot of the double bed, surveying the room with anticipatory regret. Bokuto dives onto the same bed with graceful force, sighing peacefully as he buries his head into the hotel pillow. 

Atsumu places his bag on the other double bed in the room, sparing a few sharp glances for Hinata. 

“No fucking way…” Sakusa seems to be the one who is the most uncomfortable. “I have to share a bed? With… _ugh_.” 

“Don’t worry, I only bite if you want me to.” Atsumu’s tone is sarcastic and joking toward Sakusa, but Hinata notices the glimmering glance he sends his way. 

Hinata glares back down at his bag as he unzips it as casually as he can with the displeased anger shaking in his hands. He hangs up his shirts on some of the available hangers. Bokuto starts to snore softly, feet hanging off the end of the bed; the bottom of his socks are dirty. 

“God, I wish I could fall asleep as fast as him,” Atsumu says wistfully. 

“That _is_ impressive,” Hinata admits. He is all out of the small self-made chores he had come up with to avoid talking to him.

Sakusa must have left the room while his back was turned as Hinata doesn’t see him anywhere. Looking back to Atsumu, he stops cold as Atsumu begins to take off his shirt. 

“What are you doing?” Hinata rushes to ask, looking down at his feet. 

“Gotta change into my jammies somehow, don’t I? Didn’t ask you to look.” Atsumu’s response makes its point with the smug gaze he sends Hinata’s way. 

“Will you please stop doing that?” Hinata can’t stand what it does to him. 

“Doing what?” Atsumu’s shirt is around his arms that are dangling in front of him. He gives Hinata a brow raised in question. 

“ _That!_ ” Hinata gestures wildly in front of him. He spins around on his heel and marches toward the door. “I’m going to the vending machine…” As he’s opening the door, he stops to look back. “Do you want anything?”

“Nope, I’m good.” Atsumu is pulling down his pants as Hinata jerks his vision away once again.

As Hinata reaches the vending machine, he hears faint whispering from around the corner. He leans in to listen when he recognizes the voices as Sakusa and Meian. 

“... Why can’t I just sleep on the floor in your room…”

“Kiyoomi-kun, those are your teammates. You can handle two nights sharing a room with them.” 

“No, you don’t get it…” Sakusa’s words stop abruptly at the noise from the vending machine as it dispenses Hinata’s water bottle. 

Hinata cringes at the thunking sound, straightening himself back up so it doesn’t seem like he was listening in. Sakusa rounds the corner and passes Hinata without saying a word, just casting him a short and disgruntled glance. 

Hinata holds the cold bottle in his hand, a heavy feeling in his chest. It’s not hard to figure out what Sakusa’s problem is. It’s even easier to connect that none of this was a problem before Hinata joined the team. When he makes it back to the room, it’s already pitch dark with an eerie silence that is only broken up by Bokuto’s occasional snore. 

The next day’s first practice match bears several missed connections, a few disgruntled teammates, and one incredibly furious coach. 

“What the hell was that?” Coach Foster rages as he throws his clipboard on the ground. It clatters against the glossy hardwood. 

The entire team is looking at their toes, only silence is their answer. 

“Is this high school volleyball?!” The thick eyebrows on the coach shoot straight upward as his face gains a shade of red. After a few more seconds of silence, he shouts once more, “Well?! Is it?!”

“No, coach,” is mumbled in unison by the team. 

“Damn right it isn’t! This is V.1! This better have been a fluke during warmup, because if you try and pull anything like this in two weeks you’re benched for the rest of the season!” 

Hinata glances over to Atsumu as the coach rants on, his worst fears of being a bench player flashing before his eyes. Despite the amazing serves he pulled off during the match, Atsumu had definitely been off his game where the rest of his roles are concerned. Atsumu gives a simple and grave nod to the coach as he listens. 

Raking a hand through his hair, Coach Foster paces back and forth as he continues to break down every mistake they had made. When he finishes, he sighs and orders, “Take 20 laps!”

“Yes, sir!”

Hinata breaks out into a run with the rest of the team, his muscles still warmed up from the match despite the lack of hits he got to make. He speeds up to catch up with Atsumu, then slows down to keep stride with him. 

“Hey,” Hinata says casually, although his heaved breathing causes it to come out louder than he meant it to. “You need to toss more balls to me.”

“Uh, me too,” Bokuto chimes in, jogging up to the other side of Atsumu. “We’re literally your wing spikers, Tsum-Tsum.”

“It’s fine, I can just send them all to Omi-Omi.” Atsumu starts to jog a bit quicker, Hinata and Bokuto easily catch up to him. 

“I can hear you,” Sakusa says from a distance behind them, not trying to catch up. He heaves, “Please don’t send all the balls to me.”

“What’s your problem with _me_ ?” Bokuto asks. They’re rounding their first lap now, so he lowers his voice to make sure the coach doesn’t hear. “ _I_ didn’t one-night-stand you.”

Atsumu makes a strangled noise and begins to run faster around the edge of the court. Hinata digs his feet into the hardwood, closing the gap between them quickly. 

“You’re the only way I can fly!” Hinata says quickly and assuredly. “I’m sorry for… being confused.” 

“Confused?” Atsumu stops suddenly in his tracks, catching Hinata off guard. He falters his strides and stops a few feet ahead of him. 

“Yes, I am honestly still a little confused… But I know for sure that it’s Kageyama I want to be with.” Hinata speaks his truth plain and simply, for what may be the first time ever. 

Bokuto catches up just as he says this, and perfectly captures the sparkly eye emoji’s expression. Even Sakusa catches up to them, passing them with a sideways glance. Shion, Adriah, and the rest of the team each pass them with curious looks. 

“Please play volleyball with me, I’m begging you,” Hinata clasps his hands together and shakes them at Atsumu. 

“Ugh, fine,” Atsumu says in an exasperated tone. “But only because I’m a professional.”

Hinata watches as he runs away, an excited and goofy smile plastered on his face. He jumps, shouting victoriously, “Yes!”

“Guys, keep it movin’,” Meian urges from the corner of his mouth as he passes them. 

“Yessir!” Hinata breaks into full speed, easily lapping everyone with his excited energy. 

“Save it for the game, Hinata!” 

“Yes, coach!”

  
  


In comparison to a high school practice match, there is much more fanfare than Hinata had anticipated. The stands are littered with volleyball fans here to watch the games that started with such a fumble. The crowd chatter amongst themselves as Atsumu steps up to serve. Hinata stands at the ready for anything, analyzing the court with a few quick yet soulful glances. 

With a few service aces in a row, the crowd starts to pay attention. A chance ball sends it flying back over the net, Shion receiving it perfectly. One Atsumu-Hinata quick attack later, the spectators are going nuts in the stands. The whole team is fired up now, Atsumu the most. Hinata feels that sweet sting on the palm of his hand. It makes him think of Kageyama. 

They are well matched by their opponents, but now that the Black Jackals have gotten their swing back it’s an easy slide to victory. The team roars in excitement as the final ball hits the floor just barely in bounds; if one didn’t know any better, they’d think this was a championship game and they had just won the title. 

Bokuto ruffles a teary-eyed Shion’s hair during the hug that everyone launches into, Meian dragging an unconvinced Sakusa into the huddle. 

“There are still more games to play,” Sakusa grumbles, turning his face away from the group. 

  
  
  


Later that night, Hinata’s hotel room is a noticeable shade cheerier. Bokuto has broken out some playing cards, and they are using potato chips as surrogate poker chips; much to Sakusa’s disgusted protest. 

They have pulled an end table in between the two beds, each of them sitting on the edge of their respective bed. Bokuto shuffles the cards with dexterous hands, the worn in deck fluttering down during the bridge. Sakusa shows off his skills of bluffing and the mechanics of the game itself. Apparently, the trick is to look disgusted at every hand you’re dealt. Hinata falls for it every time. Sakusa ends up with the entire pile of potato chips at the end of it, and he looks at them in disdain. 

“Fine, I’ll eat them,” Atsumu says as though it’s a mighty sacrifice. He grabs a handful of the chips, multiple flavors mixed into one pool of winnings. 

“I won those fair and square.” Sakusa smacks Atsumu’s retreating hand. 

“C’mon, you’re not even gonna eat ‘em.” Atsumu leans back over for more, crumbs falling onto his chest as he chews on the last handful. 

“Ugh, you shouldn’t either. None of you washed your hands before we started playing.” Sakusa leans back on his arms as he watches Atsumu shove the chips in his mouth. 

Hinata watches to memorize a genuine look of disgust on Sakusa’s face for the next time they play, but he can see something different in Sakusa’s eyes. 

He eyes the potato chip salad in front of Sakusa as his stomach growls, but also considers how many times they were touched by those unwashed hands. He does have his health to think about. 

The thought gives him the urge to pull out his phone and text Kageyama, so he does. 

  
  


10:25 PM

Can’t wait to beat u so hard @ MSBY BJ v Schweiden Adlers. 

u guys r so toast 😤

**Delivered**

  
  
  


Hinata stays on the page for several moments, hoping for a read receipt to pop up. A flutter of anticipation bouncing in his chest as he watches the blue bubbles, stumbling only slightly when the message remains unread.

When he goes to sleep with the others, he feels a buzzing in his mind that makes it difficult to fall asleep. The buzzing from Bokuto’s snoring right next to him doesn’t help much either. 

Even over the drone of snoring, Hinata can just barely make out a soft murmuring followed by hushed giggles. He focuses his hearing in on the noises to make sure he’s not imagining, and is able to eavesdrop on a few words. 

“...c’mere, then…” The voice is a low and amorous whisper that Hinata can recognize easily as Atsumu. 

A hushed yet amused chuckle comes in response, Sakusa breathes a whisper, “... you’re disgusting… hmm...”

“I can tell you don’t really think that…”

Hinata stops listening and covers his head with his pillow, his brain raging with all sorts of inappropriate imagery of the two. Still the horny idiot he’s always been. The noises stop as soon as Hinata’s rustling begins, and he is eventually able to find enough peace to fall asleep. 

  
  
  
  


🔒

6:30 AM

Thursday, November 1

  
  


> **Kageyama Tobio** 6:02 AM
> 
> You’ve always been a loser, why stop now?

  
  
  


The instant Hinata’s alarm goes off, he grabs his phone to check for messages. His dreams had given him fears of being ignored again. Seeing the message lit up on his home screen brings a warm sense of safety to his chest. He ponders the early timestamp, wondering if he had still been lying in bed when he texted him back. 

He had seen Kageyama Tobio in the mornings before; waking up just inches away from him during high school training camps, pretending to still be asleep while he peeked through the smallest gaps in his eyelids watching as the lean muscles made their first movements, waiting for the ritualistic way he would lean over to gently shake him by the shoulder to wake him. 

The centimeters that separated their sleeping mats felt like kilometers to a young Hinata’s yearning heart while still feeling too close for comfort to his teenage hormones. Still, the risk had been so worth it with that one simple touch to his shoulder in the mornings after those restless nights. 

His thumbs feel light and springy as he snaps back his text response, a feathery tingle in his ribs. This feeling sticks with him through the games of the day, lifting him off the court floor; helping him fly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagehina gives me so much serotonin I SWEAR
> 
> Thank you all for the super nice comments, I hope you are enjoying this fic as much as I am :')


	5. Will They, Won't They?

Saturday evening, Hinata is pacing back and forth between his closet and bed. Each time he reaches the closet, he grabs another garment of clothing and carries it back to his bed to place with the others. Yachi is watching from where his phone is perched sideways on his dresser, listening as he rants. In the frame of his phone screen, her hair is in loose pigtails as she sits at her kitchenette barstool, absently crocheting something out of colorful yarn. 

“What do you wear to your forever crush’s apartment for _dinner_ and _Mario Kart_ ? Like, why can’t Kageyama do anything _normal_ for a first date thing like this?” His entire body is flooded with indecision and fear. 

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you refer to this as a date,” Yachi’s voice notes from his phone screen, her voice keen. 

“Well, I’m still not so sure that it is…” Hinata’s voice moves around the room as he spreads out his outfit options. “... Like, he’s definitely been low-key flirting with me all week when we text…”

“So it’s a date, then!” 

“... But he said he wanted to ‘talk’ which sounds really serious and weird.”

“So it’s not a date, then?”

“... But he’s _making_ me dinner… but, like... What if I’m misreading the whole thing?”

“Uh…” Yachi’s eyes flash off screen in a moment of distraction before she answers. “I highly doubt you’re misreading it. I mean, this is basically written in the stars.” 

A disgusted groan comes from the background of Yachi’s audio. Tsukishima’s voice is picked up by Yachi’s mic, sarcastically saying, “Ah! The classic ‘ _will they, won’t they?’_ tension between two idiots. Spoiler alert: they probably won’t. I’ve been watching the same movie since my first year of high school. Boring.” 

The screen cuts his figure off just above his stomach as it passes behind Yachi, carrying bulky plastic convenience store bags. 

“What? Not since our _first year_ , come on,” Hinata fights back without questioning his sudden appearance. “We would have figured it out with that much time… One of us would have… We’re not _that_ stupid…” A few memories flash before Hinata, the conviction in his voice faltering. “Are we?” 

Yachi stifles a laugh, presumably thinking back on her tireless efforts to tutor them throughout high school. Tsukishima’s spectacled face dips into the view of the webcam to answer for her. 

“It’s time you accept your fate as dumb jock boyfriends.”

Yachi dissolves into genuine uproarious laughter at Tsukishima’s jab, making Hinata wonder whose side she’s really on. 

“Oh my _god_ ,” comes another voice from off the screen, a foreign thudding of large objects on Yachi’s breakfast bar. “Have I told you guys I _hate_ college?”

“Just every day,” Tsukishima replies nonchalantly. 

“Is that Yamaguchi?” Hinata asks, feeling left out. 

“Oh? Hey, Hinata!” Yamaguchi’s friendly face comes in from the other side of Yachi, and she is now sandwiched between the two. 

“Hey!” Hinata greets his friend as he grabs his phone, sitting on the edge of his bed and holding it in front of him. “What are you guys doing?”

“Movie night!” Yachi offers her response quickly. 

“Aw, that sounds fun,” Hinata replies dejectedly, feeling the miles between them. “I thought you said you’d help me.”

“You’ve been showing me the same five outfits for the last 2 hours, Hinata,” Yachi’s voice is thin with concern. “How long did you want the call to go for?”

“Oh, right… Sorry.” He looks around at the clothing scattered across his bedspread. 

“What’d you pick?” Yamaguchi asks. Tsukishima has disappeared from the screen. 

“Uh…” Hinata elongates the sound without an answer to follow up, causing Yamaguchi to snicker. 

“I guess this is a super important day for you, huh?” His voice is knowing and warm. “Well, Yachi’s not the best with helping with decisions.” 

As he speaks, there’s a skidding of a barstool on hardwood, and his body shifts to a sitting position next to Yachi, who says, “He’s right, I’m really not.”

“Show me and Tsukki what you have,” Yamaguchi requests. 

“Don’t drag me into this.” Tsukishima sighs as he begrudgingly comes back into the screen frame, hunched and holding a kahlua and milk. 

“Okay, well I have this black button-up…” Hinata goes through most of his wardrobe, noting all of his pros and cons while Tsukishima makes witty remarks to each one with dwindling lucidity. 

“You’re not helping, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says with a wave of his hand. Tsukishima has taken Yachi’s place on the barstool at this point, halfway through his second drink. 

“Fine, I’ll _help_.” Tsukishima says after another sip, waving his glass with a flourish. He looks directly at the webcam. “Do you have a hoodie that resembles anything like the one you wore in high school?” 

“What hoodie did I wear in high school?” Hinata asks, nothing immediately coming to his mind. 

Tsukishima’s forehead is buried in his palm as Yamaguchi laughs, responding for him, “It was yellow, I think.”

“He wore it all three years, how does he not…” 

Tsukishima’s voice fades out of hearing distance as Hinata digs through a pile of clothes in the back of his closet. Besides what he had already shown them, basically all he has left are hoodies. He remembers the one they’re talking about now that he’s thinking about it. Even if it had survived the stains and tatters of his coming-of-age, it would be way too small for him now if he had kept it. He finds a sand colored hoodie with wide tan strings criss crossed along one of the seams on the chest. 

“I don’t have a yellow one, but…” Hinata rearranges his phone so it’s propped up again, holding the hoodie up for their examination. When they give nods and sounds of approval, he asks, “A hoodie? You’re sure?”

“Oh definitely,” Tsukishima says. “Make sure to leave it behind too. If you know… ever take it off.”

“Ha ha,” Hinata replies humorlessly. “Wait, why would I leave it there?”

“So you have a reason to go back, obviously.” Tsukishima’s statement is true and to the point. “This is why you’re still single.”

“Like you can talk,” Hinata barks back with credence. “You guys are all single too.” 

Tsukishima nearly chokes on his drink before he coughs and says, “I’m single by choice.”

“That is the most Tsukishima thing I have ever heard.” 

Hinata drapes the hoodie over the back of his desk chair and carries the phone back to his bed. He lies on his stomach using one hand to keep the phone up straight and the other to prop his chin up with his elbow. 

“What movie are you guys watching?” He asks, feeling slightly afraid of the emptiness in his room. 

“Frozen!” Yachi’s voice answers from off-screen. 

Simultaneously, both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi’s faces make very different expressions. Tsukishima, darkened disgust; Yamaguchi, glittering excitement. 

“Again?” They ask in unison with contrasting inflections. 

Hinata laughs hysterically. “If I was there, Yachi and I would be singing the duet to Love is an Open Door.”

“Yamaguchi has that part down for you,” Tsukishima says with a groan. 

For some reason unknown, Hinata feels a sting of jealousy at this. _Frozen_ is Yachi’s all time favorite movie, so he shouldn’t be surprised she has looped them in on it. He flashes back to days in their teens when Hinata and Yachi would eat popcorn and junk food in Yachi’s living room, quoting the lines and singing the verses together. 

Yachi appears in the frame of his phone screen, dawning a small smile and waving a small wave to the camera. If Hinata didn’t know any better, he’d think she had put some mascara on. She looks happy and healthy, glowing even, as she says, “I really gotta go now, Hinata. I love you!” 

“Bye, Yachi. I love you too.” 

After Hinata hangs up the call, he looks down at the pile of rejected clothes spread out on his bed. The sudden quietness meets the emptiness of his small bedroom, knocking a sigh out of his chest. As he gets to work hanging his clothes and folding them, he considers how much of Yachi‘s life has changed in the past couple of years. He admits to himself solemnly that he hasn’t even been paying that much attention. A thought drifts in of Kenma, and how he hasn’t gotten any responses from him in the past week. It hurts him. 

The bad feelings are short lived as he remembers what tomorrow has in store for him. Giddiness rides up his torso at the thought of seeing Kageyama Tobio in the flesh in less than 24 hours. The countdown begins now, or… it began several years ago. Either way, it’s ticking away and driving Hinata insane in the process. He kicks around his room for a short while before taking off for a run in the crisp evening air. 

  
  


~*~*~

  
  


The nervousness has settled in. Hinata paces back and forth at the station, the soles of his tennis shoes contacting the tiled floor with a bouncy force. There had been many opportunities for Hinata to imagine what tonight was going to be like. He had years of opportunities. At this moment, he can’t think of a single one to draw on for comfort. 

He, of course, has arrived in Kogenai too early to head directly to Kageyama’s address. After pacing the terminal for fifteen irretrievable minutes, Hinata has had more than enough of sticking to one spot. 

Sliding his hips through the lime green gate while lifting his messenger bag over it, he passes the threshold to his impending date. Date? Date. He is still not sure. The fall air is chilly against his cheeks, but the rest of him is warm from the hoodie and jeans he had help picking out. Hinata thinks about wandering around for a little bit to get a feel for what Kageyama’s current everyday life looks like, but doesn’t want to risk getting lost and being late. 

So, he ends up in front of Kageyama’s door at 5:45 PM, not an ounce of patience left in his body. 

When the door opens, a dark haired woman is standing where Kageyama should be. She has her head leaned to one side as she inserts a pretty dangly earring that compliments her elegant makeup and dress. After a few seconds of confused examination of each other, Hinata realizes strangely that he recognizes her better when he imagines her throat bloody. 

“ _You!_ ” They both say at the same time, accusatory fingers shooting out between them. 

Hinata puts his finger down the moment he realizes how impolite it is, watching as the woman steps back to let him into the apartment. He still doesn’t know her name, he realizes as he steps inside. 

“Hi, Shouyou!” She says with an entrancing smile. “Can I call you that? Please call me Miwa!” 

He takes a moment to glance around the foyer of the apartment as he kicks off his shoes. To the left, the living room is immediately visible from the front door; directly ahead there is a hallway leading to some closed doors. Somewhere, he can hear the sounds of clinking dishes that are accompanied by a delicious aroma. 

“Hi, Miwa,” He replies with a smile of his own. 

“This must be why I was told…” Miwa parts her bangs at her forehead and mimics a stern pout, lowering her voice as she imitates, “Sis, I need the apartment to myself tonight. Don’t be here after 5:30.” 

It all clicks together in that moment for Hinata, wondering how he hadn’t seen it before. Another Kageyama. Even under the makeup, he can see all of the familial traits they share; especially when she does an impression as impeccable as this one. Hinata is beside himself with laughter, imagining the real scenario that had gone down. 

“I already _had plans_ ,” Miwa continues in her natural voice. It has a buttery deepness that is still femininely elegant. “Otherwise I would have told him to-- Anyway, that doesn’t matter. Come on, Shouyou, this way.” 

Kageyama Miwa boldly grabs Hinata’s hand, but he doesn’t mind in the slightest. This is a person that is so adjacent to the love of his life, that they even share the same eyes. The squeeze of her hand on his envelopes him in a sense of acceptance and safety, and he can’t be sure he’s ever felt something so warm. 

“You-hoo,” she says musically as she rounds a corner into a well kept kitchen. She twirls Hinata into view as she says, “Look what the cat dragged in.” 

Hinata isn’t sure what expression he should make, so he settles on completely flabbergasted when he sees Kageyama turning around from his spot next to the stove. Their eyes connect, and it’s all Hinata can do to keep from gasping. Kageyama is as beautiful as ever with shining cheekbones and glossy black hair that looks so touchable. He is wearing a black V-neck cotton shirt beneath a simple white apron, his bottom half obstructed by the kitchen island between them. His eyes rake over Hinata with a quick intensity, completely ignoring his sister. 

“I said 6 o’ clock,” is of course, the first thing he has to say. 

“Yeah, well, you also never told me you have a sister.” Hinata fires this back with a smirk and crosses his arms against his chest. It’s a bit out of context, but it gets the anticipated chaos going. 

“ _What?_ ” Miwa gasps as she hears this and marches toward her brother. 

“Not much to talk about,” Kageyama replies absently as he turns back toward the pot on the stove. He tenses his shoulders expectantly as Miwa smacks him on the back of the head. 

“Well, I’ve heard _loads_ about you, Shouyou-kun,” Miwa trills, a mischievous smile wrinkling her nose. 

Kageyama’s shoulders tense even more as he spins toward her, rearing a ladle like it’s a weapon. His voice deadpan, “Shut up, Miwa.” 

His cool demeanor is slipping with the redness that tinges his cheeks now, eyes glaring at his sister as his chest and cheeks puff up. Hinata had seen his top blow several times in the past, but this is by far the cutest yet. 

“I told _you_ 5:30, why are you still here?” 

“Relax, I’m just looking for my shoes.” Miwa walks around the kitchen, sliding chairs around as she looks. “The strappy sparkly ones. Have you seen them?” 

“Why would they be anywhere but in your room?” Kageyama asks with impatience. 

Hinata has made himself at home on a barstool next to the kitchen’s island, although he still feels the alienness of being in a new place. He watches the siblings’ interactions with glee, but he finds his eyes wandering back to the back of Kageyama’s neck every few seconds. The space of skin that contrasts with the black shirt and black hair creates a perfect shape that Hinata can’t tear his eyes away from. Hinata’s favorite shape. 

From this closer vantage point, he can now also see below Kageyama’s waistline and the distressed black denim of his jeans. Black on black. Hinata takes a mental note of how much he loves that. 

Before Miwa makes her exit, she gives her brother a big kiss on the cheek. Despite his attempts of fighting her away she manages to plant perfectly shaped dark red lip marks on his disgruntled face. 

“Bye, Shouyou-kun!” She shouts as she rounds the corner in flight. 

“Bye, Miwa-chan!” Hinata cups his palm by his mouth to amplify his response. Looking back at Kageyama who is vigorously scrubbing his cheek with a towel, both his amused expression and voice soften. He says, “Hey.” 

“Hey,” Kageyama says back just as softly, his scrubbing hand faltering as he looks back at Hinata. 

“What are you cooking?” Hinata asks, sniffing the air around them. His eyes keep finding the collarbones protruding from Kageyama’s V shaped shirt collar. 

“Curry,” Kageyama says simply as he turns back around to stir the pot. 

Hinata can’t help but laugh incredulously. “Not the ‘ _Power Curry is a service ace’_ curry, is it?” 

Although, it doesn’t take a genius to look around the cluttered counters and see the remnants of a home cooked meal. He keeps his smile to a small tug at the corner of his lips, biting back the urge to make another cheeky comment. 

Kageyama looks back at him with a confident smirk. “Yeah, I was in a commercial before you. What of it?” 

It’s at this moment Hinata remembers how stupidly cool Kageyama can be when he wants to. He realizes he’s barely scratched the surface of the multiple facets that make up the man in front of him. This thought translates to a feeling that sinks into his chest and settles steadfastly into place. Another tiny planted seed just waiting to flourish. 

“First doesn’t mean better,” Hinata mutters in response. 

“Since when?” Kageyama’s question is accompanied by the clacking of dishes being pulled from a cabinet. 

“Since I came around,” Hinata replies with a gleam. “Obviously.”

“Well, that’s one thing we’ll never agree on.”

As Kageyama unlatches the top of the rice cooker and starts plating dishes, Hinata watches every flow of his arms and shoulders; memorizing the way his shirt wrinkles between his shoulder blades. 

He follows Kageyama as he takes the plates to the table; and is surprised to find it already nicely set with glasses and silverware and cloth napkins. There’s a glimmer of aw in Hinata’s chest, realizing how much effort Kageyama has put into the evening.

When he returns from hanging up his apron, Hinata notices that his jeans have frayed holes fashionably placed around his knees. Also, the way they hug his hips as he walks back toward the table. For someone as meticulous as Kageyama, this look is a bit unexpected, but it flatters him none-the-less. 

It’s as he sits in the chair across from Hinata that it starts to feel very real. Even at a table’s distance, he can feel the invisible glass wall that had always been there between them. A wall he had wanted to shatter in so many heated moments of the past; just a kiss, just a shove against a wall, just a thigh pressed between his legs. 

But his fear kept him patient. His fear kept the glass intact; because if it didn’t, he would never be able to piece it back together again. 

Even still, there is something very different about the air between them tonight. It is heavier and makes the glass wall a bit more visible in the metaphorical sense. Kageyama seems to be looking right at it as he sees Hinata on the other side, enamored with the plate of food in front of him. 

“I had no idea you could cook,” Hinata says over a mouthful. 

“Duh, food is the most important thing you put in your body,” Kageyama’s voice has a quality that Hinata has never heard before, but his words are familiar. 

Hinata actually stops to swallow. “Well, this is amazing!” 

“Thanks… So how are you liking Osaka?” Kageyama fidgets with the food on his plate, which is also out of character. 

“Oh, it’s fun! I still don’t know many people outside of my team, but…” 

As their dinner conversation flows on, Hinata notices that he is providing most of it while Kageyama nods and smiles in response. He doesn’t know why he can’t stop talking, but he feels a haze in his brain that he can akin to the few times he has had alcohol. The warm and fuzzy feeling spreads to his cheeks causing him to feel flushed, but he knows it’s only water in his glass. The only thing here intoxicating him is what’s swimming in Kageyama’s eyes. 

“So Miwa lives here too?” Hinata asks, mainly out of curiosity, but partially to gauge exactly how alone they were going to be tonight. 

“This is actually her apartment, I’m just staying here during the length of my contract. She works in Tokyo as a hair and makeup artist.” 

Hinata tries not to pout at the answer, but he’s not sure if his eyes gave him away, because Kageyama _then_ says, “She’s staying at a friend’s tonight, though.” 

There is such an interesting mix of wickedness and charm in Kageyama’s expression. Hinata etches it into memory. 

“Oh, uh, c _oo_ l…” Hinata stutters his response and emphasizes the wrong vowels, never feeling more nervous than he does right now. 

He wants so badly right now to pull out any number of the debonair moves he had picked up in his experience, but this is _very_ different. The pounding in his chest won’t slow down, and he’s starting to even feel it up in his throat. He knows without need of a mirror that his face is completely red. 

“This curry is pretty spicy, huh?” He says as coolly as he can, trying to save himself. He takes a big gulp of water for added measure. 

Kageyama huffs a smile, reaches across the table, and places his hand on top of Hinata’s before giving it a squeeze. It leaves him in stunned silence. This is very, _very_ different. 

“Ready for Mario Kart?” are not the words Hinata had expected after such an intimate first gesture, but it is exactly what Kageyama says. 

_Is that like code or something?_ Hinata spirals inwardly, and it is all he can do to nod affirmatively. 

And just like that, he finds himself sitting on a couch in front of a Mario Kart loading screen. As he tries to calm his pulse, he reasons with himself that this is actually a good thing. They haven’t really _talked_ yet, anyway. 

“So…” Hinata attempts a start to a conversation. 

“I call Donkey Kong,” Kageyama says as the character selection screen pops up. 

“No, he’s mine!” Hinata races his cursor to Donkey Kong but loses to Kageyama’s head start. 

There is an instant change to the atmosphere as their competitive energy sparks up faster than it takes to flip a switch. Both of them are at the edge of their seats, even racing to see who will be the first to finish their kart. 

Hinata’s attention is so focused on the game, he _almost_ doesn’t realize when their knees or elbows bump against each other. The couch is big enough to seat three or four people, yet Kageyama had chosen to sit within skin brushing distance. Clever as it is, this tactic of distraction will not work on Hinata. He glides Yoshi through the finish line at third place, behind Baby Mario and Toad— Right in front of Kageyama’s Donkey Kong. 

Hinata can feel the releasing of tense muscles next to him as Kageyama accepts his defeat. 

“Okay, so I kind of suck at this game,” he admits, placing his controller on the couch next to him. 

“Kind of?” Hinata laughs. He would never tell him this is the first ever time he’s gotten this close to first place. 

“Maybe I was just looking for an excuse to invite you over…” 

As the words register one-by-one in Hinata’s brain, he watches in slow motion how they’re put into action; a rotated lean towards him, a flat hand sliding up his chest, an insinuating gaze locked onto him. Static electricity buzzes and pops beneath the heat of Kageyama’s palm, and it feels like an ocean of fireflies are beating around in Hinata’s stomach. 

The invisible glass wall is nearly in shambles, but remains in place with such a small and energized space between them. Yet, one thing remains bouncing around Hinata’s head that keeps him from leaping forward and ravishing the man in front of him; whose fingertips are currently kneading strong and arousing circles into the fabric of his hoodie. 

With one terrified breath, Hinata quickly strings together his words, nearly compounding the sentence into one word. 

“ _Wait-I-have-something-to-tell-you!_ ” 

Kageyama backs away with a confused expression, drawing his hand back into his lap. He waits in silence for Hinata to continue, while Hinata’s heart sinks into his stomach. 

“Um, so, I… Slept with Atsumu Miya...” There wasn’t much to beat around the bush about. He decides to add to the end, “Just once.” 

“The rice ball guy?” Kageyama’s confused expression grows by the second. 

“What? No, my setter.” 

“ _Oh_ ,” Kageyama’s response is darker than before. His eyes shift downward before locking back onto Hinata’s, his voice back to normal. “Okay, so? Like, how long ago?”

“After the Halloween party…” 

Hinata watches as all the softness leaves Kageyama’s face with each rigid defense barrier he places. His mouth forms a hard line before asking, “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Well, I thought we were going to _‘talk.’_ ” Hinata frames the last word with finger quotations. 

An amused-but-irritated scoff escapes from Kageyama as he buries his forehead in his palm. “What do you think ‘talk’ means in gay, dumbass?”

“I think it means _‘_ talk!’” Hinata shoots his arms out in an aggressive shrug. “Is there a secret gay language I never learned?!”

“Obviously.” Kageyama has seized a couch pillow and is squeezing it to his chest, his chin pressed against the top.

“I didn’t have all these mentors you do, okay? Everyone hid the truth in high school, and I had to figure everything out on my own in a foreign country!” 

“Yeah, I bet it was _really hard_ finding yourself in _Brazil_.” Kageyama’s expression is unfocused but edging toward resentment. “You have no idea what it’s been like for me since…”

“... The article?” Hinata fills in the blank that Kageyama leaves when he trails off and looks away with a cold scowl. 

Hinata immediately feels the instinct to protect the broken looking man in front of him, a squeezing in his chest and hand muscles. His voice cracks at the beginning of his sentence as he says, “Yo-you’re right, I don’t know what you went through.” 

Kageyama’s hands are shivering ever so lightly as they clutch to his comfort pillow. He is looking away from Hinata with a focused stare. Maybe one day he would share some of these weighted troubles with him. 

“I’m sorry I brought up what happened at the party, I just wanted to clear the air between us before we did anything… We were going to do something right, or did I not gay translate that correctly?” Hinata cocks his head to the right and scratches his scalp in dramatic thought. 

Kageyama finally cracks another of his precious smiles, leaving a stuttered heartbeat in Hinata’s pulse. 

“Yeah, we _were_.” His voice is back to its regular cool smoothness, matching the way Hinata thinks his lips must feel like. He finally releases the pillow from its death clutches. 

“I’ll wait however long it takes,” Hinata says with meaning, staring at Kageyama’s gorgeous face. He realizes he would wait the rest of his life if he had to. 

“I think we’ve waited long enough, idiot.” 

The slow shift back to softness has finally reached Kageyama’s eyes, and Hinata just knows he could stare into them forever. They sit there like that for a moment, the air between them lighter than it has ever been. Hinata barely notices the swift swoop towards him before he’s feeling Kageyama’s lips on his. 

There is a pounding in his chest that he feels so deeply it’s threatening to burst out with every pump, causing a ringing in his ears and a metallic taste in his mouth. His senses are so wildly out of sync, he can barely react when Kageyama shifts to his knees and straddles his lap. The hard pulsing of his blood goes directly to every part that Kageyama’s body is touching, finally leaving some room in his brain to start using his hands to stroke up Kageyama’s wriggling back. 

The kissing becomes more heated with every second, broken apart only when Kageyama lifts his shirt over his head to reveal his godlike torso. Hinata doesn’t even have time to appreciate the muscle lines that press back up against him for more kissing. He drinks him in thirstily, like he had been lost in the desert for days without water; like he had been lost in this life for years without Kageyama’s body on his. 

He’s sweating heavily in his hoodie now, so he breaks away and moves his arms in a motion to remove it… But he is stopped by Kageyama’s sudden and strong grip on his wrist. His wrist is now pinned to the back of the couch, and as he instinctively struggles back, Kageyama says, “Keep it on… for a minute.” 

Hinata relaxes the wrist that is being held hostage, looking up at Kageyama with sensual intrigue. Although the pounding in his chest has dulled to the background of his attention, its rhythm remains strong as it follows the feel of Kageyama’s hands trailing down the front of his hoodie and back up just slightly to his belt. 

Hinata has _never_ been more excited for the hands that are undoing his belt, and button, and zipper. He has _never_ been more turned on by the head and shoulders lowering to hover above his lap as his jeans are so roughly removed. And he has _definitely_ never been as hard as he is for the mouth that comes down on him. Initial shockwaves are shooting up Hinata’s nervous system that cause a few involuntary muscle spasms and vocalized gasps. 

He tries to ground himself before he winds up finishing within the first few seconds of the most anticipated blow job of his life. He wants Kageyama’s mouth on his dick for as long as he can- _mmm-_ he can’t think about that right now. He focuses on the cushion he is clutching, the air coming in and out of his lungs, all while ripples of ecstasy flow throughout his body. His attention snaps onto the strength in which Kageyama has a hold of his thighs, the soft hair brushing against the inside of them. 

“ _Ahh, fuck,_ ” he sighs out as his chin tilts up toward the ceiling. 

The lust coursing through Hinata makes his eyelids so heavy it’s impossible to keep them open as the sweat begins to build up around his temples. He is now getting at least some air flow to the top of his body as Kageyama pushes and plays with the fabric of his hoodie, leaving quite a bit of exposed flesh. 

His pulse is basically vibrating at this point, with every blood cell alert and tingly. Almost involuntarily, Hinata’s hips begin to move in a smooth yet brisk rhythm while inhuman noises escape from his throat. Finally finding the strength to open his eyes and look down, he nearly loses it over the sight of Kageyama’s shoulder muscles and hollowed cheek and self-assured glance upward…

“Ah-Kage-... I’m gonna…” Hinata tries to shift backward while gently tugging up at Kageyama’s hair, but is held down strongly while the sucking continues. 

Every one of his senses fade bit by bit into just one singular feeling inside of Kageyama’s mouth until they, (well, he warned him…) end up pooling at the back of his throat. The orgasm rushing its way through Hinata’s nervous system causes him to spring forward to an upright position as his fingers cling roughly to Kageyama’s hair. 

Kageyama is still clinging roughly to him as well, holding his lower back and thighs in a position that keeps all of Hinata’s length in his mouth. This is now officially the longest orgasm Hinata has ever had, and he rides it out while looking down at the most beautiful man he has ever seen in such a scandalous position. Even dreams aren’t made of this. 

Hinata’s hand moves to rest on the side of Kageyama’s rising face, ripped to pieces as he watches him hug his forearm and nuzzle his cheek into his palm; still dripping ever so slightly at the corners of his alluring smile, eyes half shut and hazy with desire, hair mussed in a sexy sort of tossle. 

“God, you’re beautiful,” Hinata can’t help but confess the first thought that pops into his head. It is followed by multiple other musings of the same nature. 

Kageyama huffs in amusement, “You’re only saying that because I just sucked your dick.” 

“Ugh, leave it to you to ruin the romance by using words like that,” Hinata groans. 

“Like what? Suck?” He gets closer to Hinata’s giggling face. “Dick?” Hinata tries to push him away in embarrassment, but not so hard to actually succeed. Their lips connect again, and he surprisingly doesn’t hate the taste of himself on Kageyama’s mouth. 

“Can I please take this off now?” Hinata asks when they part, making an all encompassing gesture to the hoodie he’s still wearing. 

“Hmmm… Dunno…” Kageyama dips his face to nudge his nose between the hoodie collar and Hinata’s collarbone. 

“Kageyama…” Hinata protests with a jolt of excitement at the end, in reaction to the mouth latching onto his skin. 

“Call me Tobio…” He murmurs against his skin between sucking kisses, sending a shiver all the way down to his toes. 

It’s not like this is the first time Hinata has called him by his first name by a long shot, but it is definitely the most intimate it has ever felt. “Mmh, _Tobio..._ ” 

An almost deep and feral like noise wafts over Hinata’s throat just before he is shoved sideways onto the couch while Kageyama climbs on top of him, finally removing the sticky and heavy fabric over Hinata’s shoulders. The cool air hits his arms and the back of his neck but his body remains blazing hot all the same. 

Hinata lets him kiss him for a little while longer before breaking contact, gasping momentarily, before asking, “Can I… See your room?”

Kageyama gives him a soft nod, mirroring the soft smolder of his eyes. Hinata quickly finds and puts on his underwear so as not to “Donald Duck it” across Miwa’s apartment that she so nicely shares with her brother. Slight guilt rises in him as he realizes he’s a bit late to thinking about respect when he considers what he just did on her couch.

He watches Kageyama’s bare back the entire way, eyes tracing the line where his jeans hug his hips. Distracting as it is, it still doesn’t take away from the marvel of walking into Kageyama’s room for the first time ever. He scans every visible surface and object. 

“Just as plain as I pictured it,” Hinata notes, placing his hands on his hips as he looks at the empty walls and desk. 

He feels the brush of fingertips from his elbows to his shoulders and a warmth against his back. He melts into it, relaxing his weight onto Kageyama’s chest as a cheek is nuzzled against his temple. They stand there for a moment, all warmth and safety. Kageyama will always have the height advantage, but Hinata hardly minds that right now when the entirety of his back is nestled into his chest. _This_ is what Hinata had dreamt of for so long; every time he built a pile of pillows behind him in bed or purposely bought a sweater that was too big for him was to replicate a feeling like this. None of them had come close to the real thing; not even when it was real bodies against him. They just weren’t Kageyama.

He melts again, just at the thought of how significant the breath against his neck is. Turning around, he pushes forward and they shuffle until they reach the bed-- where Hinata pushes him down to climb on top. It is his full intention to straddle Kageyama, but the way he moves his legs in reaction Hinata finds himself in between them, and that’s not so bad either. The rough denim of Kageyama’s jeans rubs against the soft fabric of Hinata’s underwear, searing waves of heat rippling up Hinata as his fingers unbutton the jeans. 

Watching Kageyama writhing against his sheets in hungry anticipation is almost satisfying enough for Hinata. He could spend hours listening to the sharp breaths edged with needy whimpers, watching the bob of his Adam's apple as his jaw clenches and unclenches with every move of his chin. Yet experiencing the untightening in his body mixed with the alleviated sigh of pleasure as he finally touches him and gives him what he wants; nothing can ever compare to that. Okay, so maybe the way Kagayama is still between his legs and wiggling his hips to the rhythm of his hand movements is also incomparable to anything else. And maybe also the way Kageyama looks up at him with misty lust-filled eyes before assertively pressing down on his shoulders in a way to tell him what he wants without using any words is also the most incredible thing that has ever happened to him. 

All these tiny exceptional moments just keep building into the most incredible feeling of all as Kageyama’s leg muscles tighten around his neck and his whimpering turns into moaning. There is one final elongated moan that cracks into a squeak in the middle, sends Kageyama’s back into an arc, and relaxes the muscles squeezing Hinata’s neck in a near chokehold. He feels the warmth of Kageyama burst into his mouth, greedily sucking in the essence of him and sending a few aftershocks through Kageyama’s already twitching body. 

“Come here,” he says shakily, still out of breath. 

Hinata looks up to see him gesturing toward his chest. He climbs up as quickly as a lap dog, easily finding a spot to curl into. 

“Take this off,” Kageyama continues, his breath slowly catching back up to him. He tugs at the fabric of Hinata’s white shirt, and Hinata obliges.

Kageyama hums in approval, heaving a soft sigh from his chest at the same time. He holds Hinata tightly to him as he runs the palm of his other hand across his skin, swirling tingles across the flesh. As they lay there in blissful silence, Hinata notices a feature of the bedroom he hadn’t in his initial scan. 

“You have glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling too?” Hinata asks abruptly, squinting at the off-colored spots on the ceiling. They’re difficult to make out when the light is on. 

“Yeah,” Kageyama says distractedly, still ogling Hinata’s body pressed against him. “They’re comforting.” 

“Huh,” Hinata muses aloud. He considers the last six years he’s spent staring at his ceiling, covered in glow-in-the-dark stars, thinking about Kageyama. 

As the lights are shut off and Kageyama’s stars begin to glow, he can’t help but wonder how many times these stars have been stared at for him. With this thought and the feeling of Kageyama’s arms around him, he finds them to be extremely comforting as well. 

A kiss in the dark and some wriggling beneath the covers later, a sleepy murmur, “Goodnight, Tobio.” 

A comforting squeeze and the moving of lips against his forehead, “Goodnight, Shouyou.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's the way kagehina are so dumb that their unrequited feelings were actually requited the whole time for me


	6. Reality & Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you might notice how far down Kageyama is on the character list... it's because I forgot to put him as a character in his own love story... please forgive my stupidity lmao

The jingle of a cell phone alarm rouses Hinata from unconsciousness, the blackened darkness behind his eyelids turning to a dim gray. As he feels the shift of the body next to him shutting off the alarm, he keeps his eyes closed and waits. After a few moments of quiet stillness, he slits his eyelids open just enough to make out the shirtless figure in front of him, torso tilted in his direction. It stays like that for a few moments more before finally, Kageyama reaches over to gently shake his shoulder. 

“Hinata,” he says in a soft yet urgent tone, his palm warm against Hinata’s shoulder. 

His name drifts over his skin and gives him goosebumps. He makes a show of blinking his eyes a few times, like he had just made his way to consciousness. 

“Mornin’,” he greets sleepily, a lazy smile creeping onto his lips. 

It’s almost a strange feeling how normal it feels to latch onto Kageyama’s morning heat, his chest radiating with it as Hinata’s cheek nuzzles into it. Kageyama’s arms so naturally pull him in close, too, like they’ve been practicing waking up like this for years. He wants to just curl up into a ball and stay tucked like this forever. 

“It’s a little after 5 AM, what time do you need to be on the train?” He asks absently into Hinata’s hair, still holding and caressing him. 

And with that one simple question, the magic bubble protecting Hinata from the outside world suddenly pops. 

“Oh,  _ shit, _ ” he exclaims as he flings upward into a sitting position. He calms down when he realizes practice is still four hours away, and falls back onto his back with a relaxed huff. “As long as I’m on it before 7, I’ll be fine.” 

As instantly as his skin hits the sheet, Kageyama’s hands find it again. He rubs soothing circles and lines all over Hinata’s body as he gently kisses every edge of his delighted face. It’s not often that Hinata feels the urge to laze around in bed all day, but he thinks he could spend eternity here in this nirvana of sheets and skin. 

“Do you want to shower before you go?” Kageyama asks this rousing question without making any actual efforts to move; still hugging onto Hinata as if to memorize his every shape. 

Hinata doesn’t want to lose the feeling of Kageyama’s chin, prickly with morning stubble, pressed against his forehead; but an even better idea occurs to him.

“Only if you promise to join me.” 

There is an instant stirring from Kageyama as the final words are spoken. He tosses the sheets that remained on them to the end of the bed, standing and reaching an arm out to help Hinata up. Hinata remains in his slightly bewildered sprawl on the bed, staring at the naked body in front of him in surprise. A grin spreads across his face as he stands, bracing onto the forearm Kageyama had offered. 

There is still an air of uncertainty between them as they touch their bodies against each other, but it is instantly overwhelmed by a warmth that Hinata has only ever felt in Kageyama’s presence. Again, he finds himself ruminating about how this is the only body he ever wants to touch again. 

The smoothness is amplified by the soapy water flowing downward, coincidentally, in the same direction of Hinata’s hand. The velvety warmth of his mouth is much more heated in comparison to the cool tile Hinata presses Kageyama’s back against, working to keep him standing as he simultaneously works the rest of him over. 

Seeing Kageyama so weak in the knees rushes a certain type of euphoria over Hinata that is so enrapturing, he nearly doesn’t stop when he feels Kageyama’s hips loosen as a broken moan escapes from between their tangled lips. 

Perfectly manicured fingers dig defiantly into Hinata’s back as Kageyama mutters in exasperation, “Too much… St-stop…” 

Hinata obeys, slowly taking his hand away with one last stroke, Kageyama’s shiver giving him the satisfaction he was looking for. His expression is worn, with a soft smile coming through at the edges of his panted gasps. Breathtaking. Hinata wants to devour him up; never stopping until he hears cries for mercy, and even then going further. Something about the vulnerable innocence displayed on the visage in front of him makes Hinata want to destroy it in the most loving way possible. 

As they wash away their sins and send them down the drain, Hinata’s fantasies only further into deeper territories. Just one night with Kageyama would never be enough for this junkie’s needs. Kageyama’s continuously wandering hands only contribute more to his dependence on his touch. He wants to be as close to him as possible, wants their bodies to be completely intertwined. He has a lengthy train ride to Osaka to consider the various ways they could achieve that level of intimacy. 

Would he, or would Kageyama? Both ideas excite him. 

As he sits there on the train in a dazey haze, he starts to wonder if the last nine hours had been some crazy hallucinatory dream. Had he really just left Kageyama Tobio’s apartment? Given him a lingering kiss goodbye? Without Kageyama’s presence right next to him, none of these events seem real in the slightest. 

A shiver hits his bare arms, sending goosebumps across the flesh. A buzz in his pocket rouses him to fish it out and look at the message. 

  
  


🔒

6:42 AM

Monday, November 5

  
  


> **Kageyama Tobio** 6:42 AM
> 
> Sent a photo
> 
>   
>    
> 
> 
> **Kageyama Tobio** 6:42 AM
> 
> You left this. idiot.
> 
>   
>    
> 

Swiping the message open sends an enormous amount of butterflies to flutter in Hinata’s stomach as he sees the image; a wide shot of Kageyama laying in his bed, sporting Hinata’s hoodie while pulling the collar down to expose a bit of the bare chest beneath. 

Okay, so that is definitely real. 

“Fuck,” Hinata can’t help but whisper to himself as he makes a fist on top of his thigh. He doesn’t know how much patience he possesses to be able to wait to see him again.

  
  


~*~

“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in…” Bokuto says with his arms crossed, examining Hinata as he walks in through the doors. 

“What? I’m not even late.” Hinata checks the time on his phone to be sure, and the clock shows he is fifteen minutes early. 

“A canary,” Bokuto continues with no offer of context, simply wiggling his eyebrows and smirking. 

Hinata tries to make heads or tails of his friend’s jovial nonsense, but is still incredibly distracted by other things. He simply stares at him blankly for a moment before proceeding to his locker. 

He is daydreamily sorting through his things when Atsumu chimes in, “I think he means ‘don’t you look like that cat that caught the canary?’” 

He leans his back against Bokuto’s locker, crosses his arms against his chest, and continues, “or, I guess you  _ would  _ be the canary, wouldn’t you?” 

Hinata gives him a sharp glance of reproach, softening the instant he sees Meian in his peripheral. He says in a mockingly sweet tone, “Good morning to you too, Atsumu.”

“Hinata, I know you are not going to come in here the day after a date you couldn’t stop talking about and say  _ nothing _ ,” Bokuto says impatiently. 

“Did I call it a date?” Hinata asks with a dry chuckle. He is almost certain he never referred to it as such, he actually always went out of his way to not do so. 

“There’s no fuckin’ way you struck out.” Atsumu states this with a confused expression. 

“I didn’t say that either,” Hinata says with a pointed chin as he continues to ruffle around with the things in his locker with very little purpose. 

“Hey, hey,  _ that’s _ my guy,” Bokuto whoops as Hinata feels a rough slap on his shoulder. 

“Putting out on the first date? Yeah, that’s Hinata,” Atsumu says with a knowing chuckle. 

“Oh my god, shut up.” Hinata smacks him a few times with the knee pad he happens to be holding. 

“I bet you weren’t there for five minutes before your pants were on the floor,” Atsumu continues unfazed, while Bokuto nods in amused agreement. 

“ _ Tobio _ is a gentleman,” Hinata replies arrantly. “Unlike someone I know.”

“Oo, burn,” Bokuto says with a sharp breath, holding out a fist for Hinata to bump. Hinata naturally bumps it back as he always does. 

Atsumu is gearing up for another retort when Adriah Thomas interjects into the conversation. “Tobio? As in  _ Kageyama _ Tobio?”

Hinata’s heart freezes on the spot, glancing over to where he and a few others are mingling within earshot. He really needs to reign in his relationship talk in the locker room. 

“What? No way that guy is gay,” Shion says matter-of-factly, and loudly. The rest of the team is now alerted to the commotion surrounding Hinata’s locker, glances landing in his direction. 

“You didn’t see that news story a couple weeks back?” Adriah asks him this in a low breath, but Hinata can still hear it. 

“Okay, let’s chill out guys,” Bokuto says in a mediating tone, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. “Hinata and Kageyama are  _ soulmates _ , so it’s okay. They’re basically high school sweethearts in a way.” 

Defeat settles into Hinata as quickly as Bokuto starts to speak. He had still been slightly in the clear with only having said Tobio. It would have been easy to cover up by saying it was a different Tobio. Bokuto had just spilled all of the remaining beans in a very Bokuto fashion. Still, his words were sweet. 

“Am I hearing this right?” Meian asks with a concerned look of focus drawn on his face. He directs it toward Hinata, who gulps with fear. “You’re sleeping with the star setter Kageyama Tobio? Of the Schweiden Adlers? Who we are competing against in the first game of the season? Next weekend?” 

The questions keep piling up on top of each other, but the answer to all of them is the same. “Uh, yessir.” 

A tense silence follows as Meian’s expression remains frozen, minus a small twitch of his left eye. He finally breaks it by asking, “Are you… purposely trying to get benched?”

“What?” Hinata asks in shock. “No, no, no. You can’t. This has nothing to do with how well I play, in fact it makes me even better! I have to play!”

Seeing the expression on Meian’s face causes Hinata to falter back, peeping a small and stuttered, “sir…” in a late show of respect. 

“All due respect, sir, Hinata’s right,” Atsumu steps in, his tone much more polite than Hinata’s had been. “It would be a big mistake not to put him in the starting lineup. We won’t win without him.”

Hinata is stunned by the confidence Atsumu is putting into him, as well as exceptionally grateful. A wholesome feeling overcomes him; he had never seen Atsumu as much of a teammate as he does now. Meian’s face twists a few different directions before settling on a calmer and more resolute expression. After all, a good captain listens to his setter. 

“Fine,” He says with a falling sigh. He makes a vague gesture at the whole locker room. “Nobody let word of this get to Coach Samson.” 

As quickly as the debacle had started, it ceases by dissolving into separate conversations amongst the players. Anyone walking in at this moment wouldn’t notice anything wrong. 

“ _ You’re so awesome! _ ” Hinata’s voice hitches as he praises Atsumu, affectionately shaking him by the shoulders and consequently the rest of him as well. “Thank you, thank you!” 

“Dude, chill,” Atsumu says unevenly, as his head is still being whipped back and forth. “I want to beat Tobio as much as you do, you know.” 

“Right,” Hinata says resolutely, a sudden and steadfast look of concentration on his face. 

A few successful quick attacks during practice later, and the team is feeling on fire. There is a different kind of energy in the practice court of professional volleyball players that nearly outmatches the feel of real high school games. Every individual here for practice is here because volleyball is the most important thing to them; it is literally their careers. 

Hinata can’t wait for his first match as a pro player. The excitement vibrates within him like charging a battery of sheer willpower. He feels like he could practice for 20 hours straight with these incredible athletes. But even this adrenaline high isn’t enough to completely pull his focus away from its epicenter: Kageyama Tobio. 

As Hinata breathes heavily against the nozzle of his water bottle, he lets his muscle memory take over his motions while his attention focuses on his phone. Carefully tapping the keys with just one thumb, he sends a text to Kageyama. 

  
  


Still thinking about your body. 

I want you so bad. 

**Sent 2:35 PM**

  
  


Within just a few seconds, the sent receipt switches to read and the three dots that symbolizes typing pops up. Hinata’s belly does a flop as he thinks to himself,  _ That’s a good sign.  _

  
  


2:35 PM

> Yeah? Prove it by coming over tonight.

  
  


Hinata’s lips break into a smile against the water bottle that he is still absently holding up to them. He puts it between his forearm and stomach and cradles it there so he can use both hands to reply to the text. 

  
  


2:36PM

I’ll gladly sit through hundreds of 2 hour

train rides if it means I get to touch you

**Read 2:36 PM**

  
  


> I’ll be waiting impatiently

  
  


A quick scroll upwards shows the tantalizing photo Kageyama had sent him earlier, just sitting there on his screen so easily accessible. He ponders on how much trust Kageyama would have to have in him to send him such a photo, his recent traumas considered. He swipes his thumb quickly on his screen to hide the photo again to keep the precious to himself. 

  
  


And with his third 2-hour train trip of the week, Hinata finds himself in front of Kageyama’s door with as much patience (if not less) as the night before. It’s his Kageyama that answers the door this time, all doe-eyed and smiley. The color on his cheeks is a different shade of red than they are after a volleyball match; all pink and rosy like a lovely flower. 

Giddiness rises in Hinata’s chest at the sight of him, sure that his cheeks are matching the same blushed hue. He steps forward with purpose, hugging around Kageyama’s waist with full force and causing him to falter backwards as the door swings shut with a bang. Hinata instantly feels the warmth of Kageyama’s arms around his shoulders as the hug is returned, enveloping him in his luxurious scent. What is that? Cedarwood?

“Shouyou!” An elated and surprised voice comes from the living room, causing Hinata to reluctantly remove his face from Kageyama’s chest to look up. 

Kageyama Miwa is sitting on the floor in front of the sofa, watching TV while painting the toes on the leg that is dangling over her shoulder. The leg is attached to Haiba Alisa, who is lounging on the sofa next to a bowl of chips that she is occasionally reaching into. As Miwa makes her exclamation, she startles up from her lazed position to wave at the newcomer. 

Even in clay face masks, pinned back hair, and PJs, they look like they belong in any one of the magazine spreads Alisa had been leafing through. 

“Aw, you guys are so cute,” Alisa says with a whimsical voice, holding a freshly manicured hand to her chest. 

“Aren’t they?” Miwa gleams. She continues to paint Alisa’s toe nails without even looking at them, but doesn’t seem to be making any mistakes. 

Kageyama feels antsy in the space right next to Hinata, feet shifting every other second. But Hinata can’t just leave without showing Miwa a bit of common courtesy first. He really wants her to like him. 

“Now you just need to hook me up with Lev like we talked about,” Miwa continues as she draws her attention back to the foot dangling in front of her. 

“Ew, gross!” Alisa lightly smacks Miwa on the back of her head with one of her magazines. “He’s way too young!”

“ _ He’s 22! _ ” Miwa argues arrantly. “And a  _ model _ !”

“ _ I’m  _ a model!” Alisa argues back, throwing her magazine to the side in her flurry of a hand motion. 

“ _ You’re  _ straight, last I checked! And you’re supposed to come directly to me the moment you start questioning that, remember?” 

Miwa and Alisa laugh in unison, all feminine and powerful. Hinata can’t appreciate or understand them to their full extent, but he’s enamored by their vision anyway; like a strange piece of art that briefly captures his attention. 

Hinata feels the rough pull from Kageyama at the same moment he notices that Miwa is purposefully pulling the room’s attention away from them. He follows the tugging force to Kageyama’s bedroom, where it feels like he had only been away for a few minutes. The sheets he lands on still smells like the two of them. 

The press of Kageyama’s body against his feels even sweeter this time, harder and greedier than before; still so eager for constant contact. The material of their shirts grind against each other, cotton on cotton, and hungry hands find their way underneath. They lie there for what feels like forever; swimming in gentle kisses and warm skin, humming small sounds of contentment and elation. 

As Hinata hesitantly pulls away from one long and sweet kiss, a question (he suddenly  _ needs _ to know the answer to) pops into his brain and out of his mouth. “How long though?”

Kageyama lifts his head up to stare down at him with a bewildered expression. The crinkle in his brow lifts as he silently expresses the need for elaboration. 

“How long have you…” Hinata actually pauses to consider his words for a moment, which is rare for him. “How long have you liked me? Was it really the whole time?”

“No, you were so annoying at first,” Kageyama answers quickly and plainly. He smirks before saying, “still are, actually.” 

“Don’t be a jerk!” Hinata’s anger flares suddenly as he aggressively pushes Kageyama’s weight off of him. 

“Why?” Kageyama asks as he positions himself so he is on his side facing Hinata. He makes a curled smile that’s half hidden by the arm he’s resting against. “I thought you liked that.”

Hinata nearly gulps at the sight and his sudden realization; he  _ does _ like that. Is that fucked up?

“I like…” Kageyama starts his sentence as he repositions himself back on top of Hinata, pressing his thigh between his legs as he continues, “... that you’re annoying.” 

He nibbles, sucks, and kisses Hinata’s neck as he continues the rubbing with his thigh. Hinata struggles to make words back,  _ anything _ at all, but can only gasp and choke back ridiculous noises. 

“I thought about you that whole winter…” Kageyama’s words hover between sensual and wistful, blanketing over Hinata’s skin like an extra set of fingers rushing over him. He didn’t need an explanation of which winter; it would always be that first winter after middle school that would be so important to them. “I didn’t know  _ why, _ but I did…”

“Did it annoy you?” Hinata’s voice is teasingly light, broken up by the pants he lets out with every movement of Kageyama’s rhythmatic pressure against his raging erection. 

“Absolutely,” Kageyama growls against the soft spot behind Hinata’s earlobe before sucking on it, sending sensory sparks all through Hinata’s already stimulated body. 

Hinata squirms beneath Kageyama, trying to get free from his grasp; Kageyama holds fast, continuing the simple teasing of Hinata’s most sensitive flesh. Waves of heat rush across his skin beneath the clothing they’re both still wearing for whatever god forsaken reason Hinata can’t think of. The only thing he is even capable of thinking right now is  _ Kageyama Tobio confessing long term feelings  _ and _ grinding against me...  _ A blindsiding shock of pleasure ripples up Hinata’s body that causes his fingers to dig deep into Kageyama’s back, and it’s all he can do to hold back the guttural wail that builds in his throat. 

Kageyama’s head pops up again, with a similar expression as the last time. “Did you just…?”

Hinata pulls his hands up to cover his face, feeling the burning of his cheeks with his palms. His embarrassment is incomparable to anything he has ever felt. “I swear I have never done that before…” 

An entertained chuckle sounds from above him, and Hinata feels his hands being pulled away from his face. Kageyama’s face is hazy with an enamored expression, staring down at Hinata with a slightly bewildered smile. Hinata can understand his confusion; he is confused as to how he possibly could have ended up in this situation himself, so wrapped up in the arms of the person who had taken up the majority of his post-pubescent dreams. Reality and dreams aren’t supposed to mix so easily, yet here they are; drifting through a cosmos of their own making, lost in each other’s eyes with a speechless silence surrounding them. 

“You should go get cleaned up,” Kageyama suggests after several moments. “Are you hungry? There are still leftovers from yesterday.” 

“Oh my god,” Hinata says, making a face that could compare to the one he had made just a bit ago. “That sounds amazing.” 

“I had a feeling you didn’t eat dinner.” Kageyama stands up from the bed, holding an arm out for Hinata. 

Hinata takes it, feeling the unpleasant stickiness still trapped in his jeans as he stands. He wants to pay back Kageyama somehow for the embarrassment, but will have to wait. His stomach growls impertinently, demanding food soon or consequences will be had.

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” Kageyama tells him, leaving with a quick peck on his forehead. 

Even the smallest of kisses sends Hinata into a whirlwind of euphoria. As he stands there in a lovey haze, a couple of cardboard moving boxes leaning against one of Kageyama’s walls catches his attention. That doesn’t make any sense… if Kageyama was moving he would have told Hinata, right? 

After a quick and thoughtful trip to the bathroom, he finds Kageyama in the kitchen with company. Miwa and Alisa have washed off their masks but are still in their lounge wear, anxiously waiting on Kageyama to finish what he is doing. 

“You guys seriously can’t even heat up food on your own? It’s minimal effort.” Although Kageyama is complaining the whole time, he still fills up four bowls worth of leftovers. 

Miwa and Alisa mirror each other's pouty expressions. Miwa says, “No, brother, I don’t even know how a microwave works.” 

“A micro-what?” Alisa asks in a feigned bimbo voice, twirling the end of her ponytail and cocking her head.

“Well, you miraculously survived before I started living here,” Kageyama says as he places the bowls on the table. 

“If you call instant ramen surviving,” Miwa says in a despaired voice. 

“Eating Miwa’s cooking is not surviving,” Alisa says, eagerly eating the food out of her bowl. 

“It’s better than your cooking!” Miwa protests, sending a carrot flying from her bowl as she waves her spoon. 

Hinata eats the heavenly curry from his bowl with amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

“Hopefully one of you ends up with a partner who can cook,” Kageyama says, leaning back in his chair as he takes a sip of water. 

“Us? We’re basically old maids at this point, Tobio!” Miwa’s voice has raised a bar of intensity. “Who would ever marry one of us?!”

“Speak for yourself, Mi-Mi! I have  _ loads _ of interested parties,” Alisa says with a scoff. “My standards are just… high.” 

“See, Tobio, you can’t leave us! We’ll be dead in a month.” 

“A month? More like two weeks,” Kageyama laughs. “You’ll be calling me in mid-January asking where the milk is supposed to go.” 

“Mid-January?” Hinata asks suddenly, through a mouthful of rice. “Where are you going?” 

The clinking of spoons against bowls suddenly shifts into stilled silence as Miwa and Alisa glance between each other and at Kageyama. Hinata looks at Kageyama too, who is staring into his bowl intently. 

“Uh… We’re just gonna take these to the living room,” Miwa says awkwardly as she begins her retreat, Alisa following quickly behind. 

“Kageyama?” Hinata asks again, “Where are you going?” 

The possibilities swim in his head; he got his own place for more privacy, he’s moving closer to his team, or he signed a contract with a new team. Where in Japan is the new team located? Further, or closer? 

“I got signed to a new team…” Kageyama finally says, forcefully speaking the words as if something is trying to block them. 

“Which team?” The bowl of curry in front of Hinata remains untouched as he waits for the answer. 

“Ali Roma…” Kageyama still seems to be struggling with his words. Hinata goes over his mental list of Japanese volleyball teams but must be coming up one short. Kageyama finally pushes through. “... In Italy.” 

“ _ Oh,” _ is all Hinata can reply with, and it’s more like a sharp exhaled breath than a reply. 

Italy is  _ much, much  _ farther away from Osaka than Tokyo. 


	7. Nevers & Forevers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The week leading up to the MSBY Black Jackals V Schweiden Adlers game.

Hinata watches as Kageyama uncharacteristically plays with his food, the silence still heavy between them. A blanket of shock still lies heavy over Hinata’s brain, but one thought creeps in so completely that it takes over entirely. 

“Were you ever going to tell me?” His voice is light and careful. 

They had only just begun to unravel each other, and with so much still tangled between them Hinata doesn’t think he can bear putting a stop to that. If Kageyama was scared of how he was going to react, Hinata is going to react in a way that makes that fear seem silly. 

“I mean, yeah…” Kageyama replies, matching the energy that Hinata had given him, but still leering into his bowl. “Eventually.”

“Italy! That’s so amazing, Tobio!” As Hinata speaks the supportive words, he feels a hole beginning to form at the pit of his stomach. 

Kageyama glances up at him incredulously, a flash of something wild in his eyes that dissolves before he looks back down into his bowl. Hinata really, really hates how he can never read him. He decides to try and lighten the mood. 

“We always knew you’d go global before me, huh?” Even still, as his voice wafts with a light springiness, he can feel the hollowing in his stomach continue. “Only a matter of time before an international team scouted you… and Italy! Wow! That’s amazing!” 

He is definitely repeating himself now. He definitely means the words he is saying. He definitely thought he would at least have a little more time before any of this. 

Hinata doesn’t know what to do with the silence Kageyama is giving him, so he continues talking. “I thought I’d have more opportunities to beat you before you left the country though…”

“I guess that’ll make this weekend that much more significant for you when you lose,” Kageyama instinctively remarks, his voice full of that resolute tenacity that Hinata had at some point fallen in love with. 

His face lights up when Kageyama starts talking again. Despite the lack of truth to his words, they’re the best sounding he has ever heard. And still, the nagging at his stomach continues… Hinata doesn’t think it’s fair to be able to feel such contrasting emotions at once. In fact, there is a lot of unfairness going on right now. 

With an overwhelming urge to scream at Kageyama and tell him he has to stay in Japan for at least a little while longer, Hinata clutches onto the only rational thing that runs through his mind. He tries to emote his speech with hopeful optimism, but there is still a degree of sadness when he says, “I’m going to miss you a lot.” 

“Well, you don’t have to yet. I don’t leave until December 30th.” 

Hinata tries to count the days in his head but realizes in the middle that he can’t mentally process that fast and tries to estimate instead. 

“That’s like, 40 days.”

40 days left to kiss him and touch him and hold him enough to account for not only all the time they’d missed in the past, but also the indefinite amount of time they will miss in the future. 

“No, it’s like... 50.” Kageyama’s voice sounds unsure himself, and Hinata can almost hear the gears grinding in his head.

“You sure? I think it’s closer to 40…”

As with any disagreement of any degree, neither of them can let it rest until one of them is proven correct. After a quick wash up of dinner, they migrate back to Kageyama’s bedroom to look at the calendar on his wall. 

“58 days,” Kageyama says resolutely as he makes a final tap on the square for December 30th. 

Hinata recounts the squares just to be sure. 58 days. “So we were both wrong. Draw?”

“I was closer without going over, that means I won. You made that rule, remember?” 

Hinata grumbles to himself. He was hoping he had forgotten that rule of their ongoing competition; one he had made for his own benefit at the time. 

“I can’t believe we ever tried to pull math into this game,” Hinata says, a bit sullenly, as he sits on the edge of the bed. 

For as bad as he is at numbers, there is one set of numbers that he never forgets: their current overall score. He mentally tallies away his loss, calculating that even when he wins this coming weekend that he still will just slightly be behind. This concerns him very little, because he can see a lifetime of opportunities to settle their score in the future. 

As Kageyama finds a spot next to him, Hinata can think of another score that needs settling immediately. 

“You really don’t want to leave?” Kageyama asks. There is a vulnerable quiver in his voice that stops Hinata’s reaching hand in its tracks. Instead, he nuzzles in closer to replace the distance with warmth. 

“What? No way. I’m here now, why would I want to leave?” 

Kageyama casts his eyes out to the distance incredulously, his eyes intense enough to bore holes through the floor. It’s obvious that Hinata’s words can only mean so much to him at this point. “Even when you’re not here? When I’m not here?”

“We can deal with that when the time comes,” Hinata says gently, his words coming out just a fraction off from his intended meaning. 

There is a harsh hissing sound as Kageyama jerks his shoulder away just out of Hinata’s reach. Now he is not even looking at Hinata. 

“When have I ever left?” Hinata asks in a sudden flare of anger, immediately realizing the Brazil shaped answer to his question and feeling stupid. 

Kageyama makes a subtle huff and, even from this three-quarters view, Hinata can see that his nostrils are flaring. 

“You left me first!” Hinata continues, no longer caring how much sense he is making. Suddenly, he can’t  _ stop _ talking. “No, there was nothing to leave in the first place! Never answering my texts, never coming to my parties, never even coming to see me when you were in Rio for the olympics. I texted you three times, and nothing! In fact, up until a week ago, none of that had changed!” 

Although Kageyama is still not looking at him, his guarded demeanor has faltered and he seems even a bit rueful. Hinata, however, is not done talking. 

“And you know what? That’s an awful lot of ‘never’s for you to suddenly be asking me about ‘forever.’” He crosses his arms and legs, angling himself away from Kageyama but still glancing back at him every other second. He thinks that actually made a lot of sense in the long run, and is probably done talking for now. 

“You’re right,” Kageyama says, finally looking back at him with the most vulnerable expression. 

Hinata turns and opens his mouth to argue back, but comes up short of words when he realizes he doesn’t have to. He takes in the incongruous expression, so vastly different from the angered one from just a few moments ago. It riles up every protective instinct in Hinata’s body, and they lash out against himself for even saying the words that caused such a look. Even if the words are true and important to Hinata. 

He ponders on every theoretical moment of pain Kageyama has ever been through in his life, and it imbues him with a fighting energy that he would take to anyone with an ill will towards this vulnerable man. 

“I’m sorry.” 

It’s Kageyama’s voice that is conceding as Hinata’s thoughts continue to mentally torment Kageyama’s past tormentors. He looks up as the words are spoken, suddenly confused as to why they are even fighting and not screwing each other’s brains out. 

“Don’t be,” he says sincerely, every muscle in his body loosening as he pats him on the shoulder. “We’re here now. Right now. That’s all that matters.” 

Hinata moves his hand from Kageyama’s shoulder to his back, rubbing sensual circles into the fabric of his shirt. Kageyama leans into the touch until he is leaning into Hinata’s chest, hugging around his waist in a strong embrace. It isn’t long before Hinata feels kisses on his throat and jawline; he giggles and swings his chin upward at the sudden feathery touch before leaning back down to find the lips with his own. 

As soon as their lips connect, it’s a frenzy of grabby hands and clattering belts as they remove their clothing in an aggressive rush. Hinata’s shirt is still hanging loose off of one arm when Kageyama sticks his tongue in his mouth and unsuccessfully tries to grasp at the short hair on the back of Hinata’s head. A jolt of electricity crackles through Hinata’s chest and abdomen and groin, all the way to the tip of his forming erection. 

“You should grow this a little more,” Kageyama comments after pulling away just slightly, twirling a fingertip around some of Hinata’s hair. 

“You’re never happy, are you? First you tell me to cut it, now you want me to grow it.” 

“Just a little,” he repeats, kissing a trail down his throat and to his nipple. 

Hinata’s shock erupts a giggle from his throat when he feels the tongue against this sensitive area of flesh. As he gets a little flustered over the shushing sounds he receives from Kageyama, he remembers once more the humiliating fully-clothed orgasm he had had earlier and how their current positioning is all wrong. 

With only a little resistance faced, Hinata finds himself staring down at Kageyama whose arms are pinned to the bed above him, readily displaying his bare chest. Kageyama looks up at him expectantly, his jeans already loosely falling just below his pelvic bones and revealing a sweet dip of flesh in the shape of a V. 

“No.” Hinata’s voice is suddenly harsh and demanding, eliciting an intrigued expression from Kageyama. “You be quiet.” 

The curves of his hips wiggle beneath Hinata’s grasping hand as it roves up the ridges and smooth spots of his immaculate body. If it wasn’t for the exasperated look on Kageyama’s face, twisted by the way his eyelids are squeezed shut, one would have no idea he was being touched so sensually for as silent as he is remaining. 

Hinata likes that he is being listened to, although it almost feels like it’s for Kageyama’s own benefit to not make too much noise in the small shared apartment. He thinks of the noises he heard last night and wants them back, suddenly finding a hidden challenge within his touches. He starts in with expertise, finding the most sensitive areas with his tongue and strong hands; treating his body in the best ways he’s ever learned and imagined. A struggled and breathy sound cracks open Kageyama’s mouth, just barely breaking the sweaty silence. 

The corners of Hinata’s mouth perk up in the smallest smile, still pressed against Kageyama’s peck with teeth just barely biting down on his nipple. He can break him. Easy. 

His game continues with soft caresses and hard sucking on antsy skin, never quite giving it what it so obviously and so desperately wants. After finally removing his pants after rigorous teasing, he spreads him out in front of him still without giving him the touches his body is evidently begging for. And despite the salacious view of Kageyama’s lust-clouded eyes staring up at him, and his body bared in its completeness beneath Hinata’s firm grip on his knees, he still hasn’t quite gotten what he wants from him. 

Kageyama’s enduring silence is admirable, considering the amount of work Hinata has been putting in to get just  _ one more _ little peep from him before letting him climax. It’s all he wants, just one more sound and he would happily give him what he wants. He silently begs for it with every fevered touch. 

It’s a feeble whimper, so light Hinata could hardly hear it; but he definitely does. It’s as though suddenly Kageyama has found use of

his arms again as he flings them around Hinata, bringing him crashing down to connect their lips again. 

As they part, Kageyama eloquently speaks, “I want you…” his voice still soft and whispery, “I want you to fuck me.”

Hinata’s entire world screeches to a sudden halt at the registering of Kageyama’s words, fixated on the needy raspiness of his voice. He looks down at him with an uneasy expression, almost afraid he had heard him wrong. 

“What, do you want me to say please?” Kageyama playfully sneers as he shifts to lean over the edge of his bed, digging out a small box from underneath. 

“Maybe,” Hinata says back, feeling more confident as he sees the string of condoms Kageyama pulls from the box. “Would you?” 

He passes Hinata one of the condoms and a small bottle of lube. For the first time in Hinata’s life, he can see no trace of the usual clouded barriers in Kageyama’s eyes as he says so softly, “... Please?” 

He really hadn’t needed any convincing in the first place, as his pants and underwear are already halfway off of him in a twisted mess of denim and stretchy cloth. He has been hard from the start and needs no more encouragement to give Kageyama what he wants, using his fingers at first before finally... Finally. 

_ Finally, finally, finally, _ Hinata internally and privately weeps in euphoria. 

He feels completely enveloped in the entirety of Kageyama’s esoteric essence, only to ever be understood by Hinata if he has any say in it. The waves of joy are lined with anxiety still, reticent in his thrusts so as not to inflict unnecessary pain. But it’s good, and it’s great, and it’s Kageyama. Hinata grasps at the arches of his shoulder and bent knee, feeling a sense of certainty in his movements. And just like that, Kageyama’s innocent silence is broken. It’s guttural and broken sounding, but it is loud. Hinata lets himself go with him, keeping his own moan in his throat. 

Suddenly from through the bedroom door, the volume of the TV has doubled and the shrill voice of a goofy announcer on a cooking show can be heard. Hinata is suddenly worried about Kageyama’s reaction, but he looks down to see him laughing. A slow and spurting laugh that grows into a glowing giggle. Hinata laughs with him and feels its warmth as he finally lets his muscles relax to lie next to him, wasting no time before cuddling into him to feel the movements of his chest while he laughs. It’s so fucking cute. 

He wants to know everything about him. It’s already late, but after they are properly ready to sleep and back in bed, he decides to start in with some easy questions. 

“So what’s your favorite color?” Hinata asks, twirling circles onto Kageyama’s chest with his fingertip. 

“... Orange,” He says after a moment of deliberate silence. Hinata can feel the heat of his breath against his hair. 

“Favorite kind of flower?”

“Sunflower.” There is less of a delay in his answer this time. 

“Favorite animal?”

“I like cats.” His voice is tired, but Hinata doesn’t ever want him to fall asleep. 

“Have you ever had one?” He asks to keep the conversation flowing fluidly. 

“Nn. No, my grandpa was allergic.”

“Did your grandpa live with you and your parents?” Hinata grabs at every verbal puzzle piece, still so short on the pieces that make up Kageyama. 

“...” Only silence this time. 

Hinata tucks away his unanswered question for another time, quickly turning the conversation back to something lighter. 

“Ever thought about adopting a cat in the future?” 

“Yeah, if I settle somewhere for long enough.” As Kageyama answers, his mind seems elsewhere. 

Hinata can feel the idle caresses on his back and imagines Kageyama staring blankly into the darkness. He asks nervously, “You okay?”

The hand on his back becomes firmer as Kageyama comes back to reality, pressing a kiss to Hinata’s forehead as he affirms, “Yes, I’m fine.” 

The tightness that manifested in Hinata’s chest relaxes with the sweet kiss. A few moments of sleepy silence pass by before he finds his mouth moving again. 

“I always wanted a dog.”

“Hm?” Kageyama asks, seeming to be seconds away from unconsciousness. 

“When I was younger, it was all I wanted. My mom always said something like ‘I already have you and Natsu to keep up with.’” He mimics his mother’s voice before slipping back into his own. “What does that even mean?”

Kageyama laughs softly, and it’s like music to Hinata’s ears. His voice is dimmed by fatigue as he mumbles to him, “We can have both… A cat and a dog…” 

Hinata uses this idea to draw a picture in his head; The image of Kageyama sitting on a couch with a cat curled on his lap and Hinata curled into his side with a puppy lying at his feet. It fills him with a sense of safety. The one picture turns into multiple. Kageyama and Hinata on a morning jog with an enthusiastic pup tugging on its leash, a family portrait of all four of them impressively cooperating for a photo, a cat rubbing its side against Kageyama while he ties his shoes before leaving. 

He pictures these futures as his own, and a dreadful feeling of hope rises in his chest. As hard as he fought the word ‘forever’ just hours ago, he can’t escape its appeal. Here in Kageyama’s arms and sheets, it’s as though ‘forever’ is the only thing he wants in this world. 

~*~

Even with the few winks of sleep he was able to catch on the morning train, Hinata is all but dragging into the MSBY locker room the next day. He is in even worse shape the following morning, after yet another late night in the confines of a small bedroom in Tokyo. He feels the vibrations of sleep depravity creep up his insides and his eyes filling up with theoretical sand.

He just wants to shut them for one moment. 

“Hey!” The exclamation comes at the same time the locker next to him is slammed shut, springing Hinata’s drooping eyes wide open. 

“What?” He asks sharply, barely recognizing the voice that comes out of his own mouth. 

Bokuto looks at him with a concerned and slightly hurt expression. “You okay, buddy?”

“Yeah, fine, why?” As he’s speaking, he realizes his jacket is on inside out and fixes it. 

“You just seem a bit off…” Bokuto presses a hand to his chin in contemplation. “Did you get a haircut?” 

As an unsolicited hand grasps lightly at the hair on the back of his head, Hinata hears Atsumu say, “Nope, it’s longer than I remember.”

Hinata can only spin around and give him a tired look. He really is getting tired of Atsumu’s comments as well as being incredibly physically tired. “Can you please just… not.”

“Well when you take all the fun away like that, no. I can never.” His voice sounds defiant as he crosses his arms. 

Hinata tries to roll his eyes at his unintended consequence but is too tired to completely do so. 

“Seriously, you look more tired than Sakusa after he does something,” Atsumu says with a changed inflection of importance. 

“The bags beneath your eyes have bags, dude,” Bokuto adds in his own voice of reason. “How much sleep have you been getting?”

“If I said, ‘not much,’ how much shit will that get me?” Hinata asks, shutting his locker as lightly as possible. 

“Ohoho,” Bokuto chuckles knowingly, a look of rare wisdom on his face. “You just need a new mattress. I sleep like a baby since I got mine.” 

“I doubt he’s even seen his own mattress this week,” Atsumu says. 

“What? You’ve been going to Tokyo every night this week? Hinata.” The way Bokuto says his name is disapproving. 

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” Hinata waves at the air in front of him. “It’s only Wednesday.”

“Yeah, and our first game of the season is  _ only _ three days from now.” 

“Really? That soon?” Hinata asks absently. 

“This has been Tobio’s plan from the start,” Atsumu says with a long and emphasized sigh. 

Hinata spins around at the mention of Kageyama. “What are you talking about?”

“You know, making you travel four hours a day the week before your game together. Seems a bit too coincidental to me…” Atsumu holds up a hand and pretends to look at his nails. 

“That’s not what is happening,” Hinata says, still assessing the situation as he speaks. The math does make sense… No. “He wouldn’t do that.” 

“How well do you  _ actually  _ know him? You know, besides biblically.” 

“Better than you.” Hinata’s tiredness is morphing into grumpiness. 

“Kageyama is great,” Bokuto cuts in before Hinata can spew the mean things on the tip of his tongue. “But Hinata, even you know that sleep is important for your physical  _ and  _ mental health.”

Hinata’s shoulders drop, although he doesn’t remember tensing them up in the first place. He does know Bokuto is right, but he doesn’t like it. Sighing in defeat, he says, “Fine, I’ll stay home tonight.” 

“I heard that loophole,” Atsumu says. “You need to stay home until after the game.”

“What? No.” Hinata does the short math in his head. That’s three nights he would have to subtract from the remaining nights he has left with Kageyama. 

“So you really have lost the drive to defeat him? What happened to your volleyball passion?” Atsumu shakes a fist in the air dramatically. 

“It’s still there,” Hinata says instantly. 

When he’s not with Kageyama, he’s training. Even when he’s with Kageyama he is sometimes training. His rides on the train are efficiently filled with strength exercises he can accomplish from the confines of his seat. When he’s not thinking about kissing and cuddling into Kageyama, he is thinking about ruining him with a perfect spike that zooms past his blocking fingertips. When he’s not cherishing him on a pedestal of his own creation, he’s thinking about how he can usurp his crown. 

“Believe me, it’s still there,” he repeats for emphasis. 

“If you say so…” Atsumu waves a hand over his shoulder, his back already facing Hinata as he walks away. 

“How do I get him to stop?” Hinata asks as he turns back toward Bokuto. 

“Atsumu? I think the trick is just to ignore him. See?” 

He points over to where Atsumu is now pestering Sakusa. Sakusa is ignoring him so well that Hinata almost thinks he genuinely does not hear him. Hinata watches as Atsumu’s frustration grows until he stomps away and out of the locker room. Mental notes are taken. 

Even with the sleepy sandy feeling in his eyes, Hinata’s muscle memory is enough to carry him through practice. Bokuto gives him praise, shaking his shoulders and rattling his head around like a maraca. Maybe there really is sand in his head, leftover from all those days on the beach in Rio. That stuff does get everywhere. 

It’s when Bokuto gets a very unexpected phone call at the end of practice that ignites his excited energy that Hinata really starts to pay attention. Bokuto rushes over to him so fast and with such a look of panic he thinks some sort of emergency has broken out. 

“What’s wrong?” Hinata asks instantly, prepared to fight or fly to the fight. 

“That was Akaashi,” Bokuto says with wide and spaced out eyes. “He’s coming to the game on Saturday.” 

“Oh, that’s great!” Hinata says, letting his guarded position drop. 

“He asked if I could stick around for an interview, and then… for drinks after.” Bokuto’s voice is sounding less excited as he continues, and it confuses Hinata.

“Isn’t that what you want?” 

“Of course I do, I just… It’s all moving too fast.” 

“Too fast?” Hinata scrunches his brows. “I thought it was since high school…”

“Yes.” Bokuto’s energy is becoming even more difficult to read than usual. 

“2012 was five years ago…” Even Hinata can do that math. 

“I can’t wait to see him in person again,” Bokuto insists. “But what if he wants… I just wouldn’t know what to do.” 

“Oh?” Hinata is intrigued, picking up on the fragmented sentence’s meaning. 

“Can we go talk about this somewhere more… Private?” Bokuto is rubbing a hand on the back of his neck and glancing over at the rest of the team milling around, particularly Atsumu. 

  
  


Hinata places a coin into the vending machine and chooses his purchase, gathering his thoughts in his head. “So you really have never…”

“No,” Bokuto says, his voice scared. 

“Seriously? No one has ever flirted with you or tried to pick you up?” Hinata finds this incredibly hard to believe, especially with how good looking he is. Hinata isn’t blind. 

“I mean, there have been people that were interested… And I would have, but… That kind of thing takes a lot of trust, you know?”

Hinata thinks back on some shady situations he had found himself in for sex in the past. “Uh, sure… So, you trust Akaashi?”

“Always have,” Bokuto says contritely. “I just wish I had…” He shakes his head. “Whatever, that’s in the past.”

“Right, and we’re in the present now. So on Saturday night, what are you going to do?” Hinata hands him a drink from the machine.

Bokuto stares down at the can, but doesn’t open it. “I am going to… Kiss him?” 

“That’s a good start,” Hinata says patiently. “I’m sure once Akaashi knows your intentions it will play out naturally from there.” 

“But what if he pushes me away… Or worse, what if he expects me to  _ know what I’m doing _ .” 

“Just be upfront with him, I’m sure he won’t be upset at you for being a virgin.” The can of tea he is drinking is giving his brain cells some caffeinated energy. 

“Your advice is a lot different from Kuroo’s,” Bokuto says thoughtfully. “He’s been trying to get me to ‘give up my v card’ for years now.”

They leave the conversation, and Hinata feels like he did something small but good to help his friend. He had looked up to Bokuto for so many years now, it’s almost impossible for him to imagine he has more experience than him in something. But he’s glad it is his words that are bringing comfort to him for at least a short while. He ponders on what Bokuto’s energy will be like on Saturday. 

Saturday. Just a day. Just a day that Hinata has been looking forward to for over six years. 

~*~*~

After a quick text of explanation to his… Boyfriend? (He should probably ask about that at some point.), Hinata looks around his apartment like a stranger would. It’s been three days since he’s been home besides to quickly grab a change of clothes, and the place is in shabby shape. 

He decides to start on the dishes still lying in his sink from Sunday’s lunch, making quick work of them as a popular song’s chorus repeats itself in his brain. He grabs the blanket on his rinky dink sofa and folds it neatly before draping it over the back, and picks up a cup he had left on the table. It’s very little work, but he feels good about it. After admiring his clean apartment for a moment, he makes himself dinner and then settles on the sofa with a manga in hand and his blanket loosely wrapped around his lap. He doesn’t even realize all of his tidying has just been undone. 

After a few brief seconds of reading the same panel over and over again, Hinata sighs and drops the manga to his lap. He doesn’t think he missed a notification of a text from his phone, but he checks anyway. Nothing. A spike of uneasiness springs up in his stomach. He opens his message to Kageyama, seeing a read receipt from thirty minutes ago. 

“Agh!” Hinata rages and chucks his phone away from himself, as far as he can make it go. “Asshole.”

He pulls his legs up onto the couch and wraps the blanket more soundly around them before futilely lifting his manga back up to read. He feels the drowsiness all at once, with heavy blinks that just get longer and longer until the pages in front of him fade completely to black. 

It’s a quick and rough knock that wakes Hinata, launching him into the inevitable delirium of waking up from an unexpected nap. The lighting in the room is all off from what he remembers, drenched in the orangey-pink hues of the sunset seeping in through the window. He’s not even sure if the knocking was a dream or real, but as it happens again while he rubs his eyes it rattles some clarity into his sleep-fogged brain. 

With heavy arms and legs he wades through the thick feeling air, just wanting to lie back down and sleep more. When he finally gets the door open, Kageyama is standing there in a mid-knocking position. Something falls right out of Hinata’s chest and onto the floor, literally or metaphorically he is not sure, at the sight of him. He looks rugged and travel worn, a duffle bag loosely hanging over one shoulder. Every cell in Hinata’s body warms up instantly. 

“You came…” 

“Duh.” 

They spend the night sleeping, resting soundly in each other’s arms. Hinata can’t remember a time he has ever slept better. He rouses briefly in the golden morning light as Kageyama gently kisses him goodbye, falling back asleep instantly before having to get up an hour later. 

Kageyama travels to Osaka again the following night, showing an effort for Hinata that is new and exciting. Due to Friday night being the eve of their big game, they decide it best to stay in their individual beds, miles apart. And even still, they manage to communicate better than they ever have in the past. As he falls asleep at a decent hour to the grainy view of Kageyama’s slumbering face via facetime, he can almost see it. Almost feel it. 

Forever. 


	8. Reasons To Celebrate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata and Kageyama are back in Sendai for the big game

The day is bright and shiny, with sunbeams cascading through Hinata’s curtains in an omen of good things to come. His uniform is neatly laid out in front of him, proudly displaying the number 21 in bold and boxy font. The MSBY Black Jackals uniform is honestly so cool, Hinata can’t believe he gets to wear it. With black as the primary color and their secondary color slashing into it like claw marks, it is by far cooler than Kageyama Tobio’s uniform. 

The Schweiden Adlers. Hinata had been researching their players for quite some time, even though he knows a few of them personally. Each of them have grown into their pro uniforms, just like Hinata had. Hoshiumi Kourai, Ushijima Wakatoshi, and… Kageyama Tobio. 

His first ever real volleyball game had been against Kageyama’s middle school team Kitagawa First, and now his first ever real professional volleyball game is against Kageyama’s current team The Schweiden Adlers. The beautiful symmetry of the situation is not lost on Hinata, whose mind always tends to wander toward the mystical and fantastical. He knows without a doubt that this game has been destined from the very first time he ever touched a volleyball. 

Dreams of destinies swirl through his brain as he makes his way through the motions of leaving for the long bus ride to Sendai. The excitement begins to tingle in his toes at first, slowly shivering its way up his spine and to the top of his head; he’s filled to the brim with it now. As much as he wishes to be able to ignore Atsumu as craftily as Sakusa can, he can’t help but laugh at his jokes or keep himself from realizing that he genuinely enjoys being his friend. By the time they make it to the stadium, Hinata’s stomach is sore from laughter. 

A walk around the stadium is just what Hinata needs to stretch his legs, and Bokuto frantically agrees to join him; there is a certain manic energy about him today. Hinata can easily guess Akaashi’s involvement in his actions and mannerisms, but for the most part nothing has been too out of character for him. Their noses pick up a delicious aroma as they continue their trek, and Hinata tries to follow it before suddenly being yanked backwards by the collar of his shirt. 

“Hey, you’re gonna stretch it-” Hinata starts, before Bokuto hushes him. He has been dragged behind a large plant, and isn’t sure how effective of a hiding spot it is. 

He looks around for what they could possibly be hiding from, and finds the answer standing in front of an onigiri stand. Akaashi Keiji is talking to the stand owner that Hinata instantly recognizes as Osamu Miya. 

“Let’s go talk to them,” Hinata says, starting to leave his hiding position before getting dragged backwards again. 

“No, I’m not ready!” Bokuto says this so quickly, he doesn’t even have time to take another breath before he continues, “Let’s just hide here for a bit.”

“We should really get back to the team, I kinda gotta go to the bathroom,” Hinata admits, remembering exactly how long they had been on the bus. 

As he’s speaking, his voice trails just slightly with the shock of recognition. A grin lights up his face as he sees Yachi leaving a different stand with Yamaguchi next to her. He is about to get up to go see them, but stops the moment he sees an amorous hug between the two. They glance around discreetly before Yamaguchi leans down to kiss her, just barely not hidden by a pillar. It’s a cute and familiar kiss, like a greeting the two of them had practiced before. 

“Did you see that?” Hinata asks excitedly. It’s his turn to stretch Bokuto’s shirt collar by grabbing him. 

“See what?” Bokuto is unfazed by the sudden jerk. 

“Yachi and Yamaguchi just kissed!” A flash of wonder hits Hinata--  _ why hasn’t she told him about this? _ \-- Before he realizes it’s not really about him. 

“Aww, Yacchan?” Bokuto is misty eyed. “She is so cute.”

“You remember her?” Hinata asks, impressed. 

“I remember everyone,” Bokuto says proudly. “Who is Yamaguchi?”

A laugh sputters from Hinata as he covers his mouth. “He was our pinch server.”

“Ooh!” Bokuto’s eyes sparkle in recognition. He’s so tall though! How did it work?”

“Short people and tall people date all the time,” Hinata says, still hunched behind the plant. “Can we please go now?”

“I guess you and Kageyama are doing just fine, huh?” Bokuto finally starts walking away from the plant, distracted completely from why he was even there. “Does he have to lean down to kiss you, or do you stand on your tippy toes?” 

“Shut up, Bokuto, I’m not that much shorter than him.” Hinata gruffly walks ahead, the larger than life poster with Kageyama’s image on it looming above him. 

“Why are you mad at me?” Bokuto calls after him, jogging to keep up.

  
  


A good luck text from Kenma is waiting on his phone, accompanied by several others. Hinata smiles at the well wishes and how many different confirmings of attendance he has received. If he could be any more excited, he would be. 

Meeting in the bathroom hallway almost seems planned. The moment he hears Kageyama’s voice behind him, he knows he was meant to be here at this exact moment. It’s a resounding feeling to turn around and catch a full image of the one person that can make your heart stutter. All the same, Hinata keeps a smug and competitive smirk on his face to match his rival’s. It’s their love language, after all, and it goes back to the beginning. Even as the hallway fills with the chaos of MSBY and Schweiden jerseys intermingling, Hinata keeps a solid eye on Kageyama. Hoshiumi is a bit of a distraction, though. 

The energy of the stadium belongs to Hinata, coursing through his veins with every step closer to the court. It’s catalyzed by the fanfare, the starry-eyed children, the screaming crowd, the flashing lights, and the invigorating first handshake he shares with Kageyama. He can feel it carrying him through every pass, every jump, every spike.

He can see it in his teammates too, with every play they make together. In the end, Hinata could never have beaten Kageyama without them. And when that final ball hits the floor and Hinata watches the defeat play out on his lover’s face, the sweet rush that runs through him is worth every struggle it took to achieve it. He can already feel the memory seering into his brain with importance before he even looks away to greet his boisterous teammates in a group hug. 

At the game's end, the energy in the atmosphere takes a sudden shift; there is no more music or announcers, just ambient chatter as people shift their way around the bleachers. Faces in the crowd shift in and out as Hinata signs autographs in between taking large gulps of water. Eventually, some of the faces that come across are familiar and warm and full of pride. Hinata wishes he can say he has the strength to hold it together when Takeda Sensei and Coach Ukai find their way to give him praise, but Takeda’s tears are too much for him not to replicate. 

Kageyama’s fanbase seems to only have grown since the article he was featured in in what seems forever ago, but was only a few weeks. He is surrounded by starstruck men, all wanting to shake his hand or get his autograph. Hinata wants to feel jealous, but the sweet look of flattery on Kageyama’s face is enough to make that melt away instantly. He really should know exactly how handsome he is. 

When Kuroo Tetsuro pulls him to the side and offers his business card in an elegant dance of salesmanship, Hinata nearly forgets that he’s supposed to be mad at him. 

“Look, I did nothing wrong,” Kuroo says persuasively, his arm still casually slung around Hinata’s shoulder. “I simply designed a pool based on nature. It’s not my fault the way things played out so corruptly.” 

“I guess that makes sense…” Hinata looks back down at the business card he’s holding, not sure how he can’t trust a guy with a card like this. “You’re right, Kuroo-san. I’d love to help… whatever it is you’re doing here.”

“That’s the kind of loosely worded agreement I absolutely love to hear, Hinata. We’re gonna work great together.” 

“Thanks!” Hinata confidently stuffs the business card into his pocket, dooming himself to forget it there and run it through the wash. 

After they leave, he finds himself smushed in the middle of the backseat of a small four door car with Tsukishima at the wheel. To his left, Yachi is beaming with excitement; to his right, Kageyama is cramped tight with his legs pulled in as tightly as he can. Kageyama tries asking Tsukishima to give him just a little more space, but every time the seat is adjusted he ends up with even less space than before while Yamaguchi snickers in the front passenger seat. 

Yachi is rambling up a storm, and while Hinata typically has no problem keeping up with her tangents, he is distracted by the task of glancing between her and Yamaguchi. He knows deep down that it’s not a slight on their friendship that she hasn’t told him anything, but he can’t help but feel differently. He has told her about almost every development with Kageyama, what does she think she needs to hide? Besides, he just  _ really wants to know _ . It’s starting to eat at him. 

They arrive at the predestined meeting spot; the door to Spiked is closed, with a sign stating ‘Closed For Private Event’ in bold letters. In such close proximity to Kageyama, within hand brushing distance, Hinata can feel the moment he tenses up and falters his footsteps. He reaches over and gives his hand a reassuring squeeze, trying to mentally converse “I’m here.” 

To the right of the door, Hinata notices a new sticker pasted to a window. In rainbow text below a volleyball shaped emblem, the sticker reads ‘Proud friend of the JVA.’

Tsukishima opens the door and gestures for everyone to enter, allowing Yachi and Yamaguchi through before he lets his arm drop and enters himself. Kageyama rolls his eyes and huffs before opening the door that automatically closed after Tsukishima. Hinata stands idiotically there for a moment before realizing he is holding it open for him to go through first, which still brings a confused look on his face. 

“Today only,” he says flatly. “... Winner’s first.” 

Damn right, Hinata thinks to himself proudly as his shoulders perk up with the confident stride he uses to enter. An uproar of cheers greets him instantly as he meets familiar eyes across the room. Civilian clothes mix with MSBY and Schweiden Adler jerseys as the crowd mingles together, glasses filled to their brims with beverages. It truly feels like a celebration. 

Hinata wonders to himself what is most worth celebrating in this moment and can’t even narrow it down. Surrounded by friends and teammates, the buzz of victory still in his veins, Kageyama sitting right next to him…  _ He’s just so fucking happy.  _

“Alright, who thinks they can beat me at darts?” Kuroo’s voice drifts from the side of the room. It’s thick with confidence most likely catalyzed by alcohol. 

Kageyama is moving before the challenge is even finished, Hinata chasing after him not even a second later.  _ As if  _ he would let him participate in a challenge without him.  _ As if  _ he would let him spend one second of this evening without him. 

Kuroo is leaning against a tall table with a half empty glass of beer, his tie loosened and the top buttons of his shirt undone. He must have abandoned his suit jacket somewhere to roll up his sleeves, and he looks rugged and casual in a strikingly handsome way. 

“You guys ever played darts before?” Kuroo asks amiably. 

Hinata and Kageyama shake their heads in unison, eyes steadfast on the man before them. 

“Okay, so watch my posture,” Kuroo says, putting his beer back down with a heavy thunk on the table. 

He makes a stance a fair distance away from the dartboard, declaring a certain framed jersey as the official place marker. Hinata watches the way he stands and the flow of his arm that leads to a flick of a wrist. The dart soars its way to the board, landing near the bottom of the board above the number 3. 

“Okay, so I never officially said I was good,” Kuroo disclaims, shrugging as he turns away from his horrible shot. “But I do know how the scores work. Wanna give it a try?”

Hinata and Kageyama both reach for the offered dart, hands wrestling to get to it first. 

“Ahem?” Hinata clears his throat. “Me first.”

Kageyama huffs in impatient irritation before crossing his arms in defeat. Hinata is absolutely going to milk every ounce of his victory this evening. With a confident stride, Hinata lines himself up for a shot. 

As the dart leaves his hand, he feels a sudden buzzing in his jacket pocket, and he watches with grief as it clatters to the floor. Kageyama looks downwardly at him, Hinata hates how he can do that, as he passes by to take his turn. 

The buzzing remains insistent in his pocket until he pulls it out to see a number he doesn’t recognize and answers it. 

“Helloo, Shouyou!” Rings a voice he has recently come to recognize as familiar. 

“Oh, hi Miwa,” he replies, implying as big of a smile as he can in his tone. 

Kageyama stops scrutinizing the board and looks over to Hinata when he hears his sister’s name. Kuroo sighs before taking a drink, looking a bit impatient. “Hey, are we putting money on this or...?” Hinata barely hears him say to Kageyama before he tunes back into his phone conversation. 

“...  _ sooo _ proud of you!” Miwa gushes through the speaker. “You truly showed that little punk who is better! Maybe now he won’t be quite so pompous, but I truly doubt it—Shh, Alisa calm down I’ll tell him you said hi—By the way, Alisa says hi and…”

The other line scuffles for a few moments before Alisa’s voice becomes clear enough to hear, “... you’re the coolest volleyball player I’ve ever seen play! I didn’t get to see all of it because I was on a shoot, but oh my god Hinata-kun that was so great!” 

“Thanks, Alisa!” Hinata’s posture has relaxed significantly since he started the phone call, feeling thrilled to hear their voices. 

“Alisa? Haiba Alisa?” Kuroo asks in an incredibly interested way, sliding over closer. 

“Is that Kuroo Tetsuro?” She asks on the other end of the call, her voice dropping its cheerful tone. She makes a dramatic scoffing noise and says, “tell that douchebag to lose my number,” before scrambling to add, “wait, please don’t actually do that.”

Alisa’s stammering follow up is a good thing, because Hinata was about to reiterate word for word what she had just said. Hinata glances behind Kuroo just in time to watch Kageyama fumble his first dart throw as well; it is definitely not like a volleyball. 

“Anyhoo, you guys have a good weekend,” Miwa says, the phone picking up her voice at just the right second. Before hanging up she signs off with, “Tell Tobio I said he sucks.” 

“Your sister said she loves you,” Hinata says as he walks back up to him, tucking his phone back into his pocket. 

Several failed attempts at darts later, Kuroo is counting their pocket change with a pleased look on his face. His game prowess managed to get increasingly better as the bet was raised. He looks up from the wad of cash as a familiar shout bellows from the entrance, followed by a cheer from every patron in the bar. 

“Heya!” Bokuto’s voice is still nowhere near the level it should be for indoors. He gives Kuroo a smack in his hand and pulls him in for an aggressive hug. “Sorry we’re late, the interview went longer than expected.”

_ Sure it did _ , Hinata wants to say so badly in the most sarcastic and suggestive tone, but would never actually do so to Bokuto who is watching so carefully as Akaashi finally catches up to him. 

“Uh-huh,  _ sure it did _ ,” Kuroo manages to say with no moral qualms. 

Akaashi laughs as he holds out his hand in greeting, “Hello, Kuroo-san.”

“Oh, fuck off with the formalities. Come here, dude.” Kuroo ignores the extended hand and goes straight in for a hug. 

“Sorry I’ve been so out of touch,” Akaashi says sincerely. “Let me buy you a beer for your birthday.”

“Oh yeah!” Bokuto’s face lights up with the reminder, but his expression still manages to seem slightly spaced out. He lifts his hands to cup his mouth around a resolute shout, “Hey everyone!”

“Bokuto no,” Kuroo starts, barely lifting his hand in a halfhearted attempt to stop him. 

He doesn’t seem at all upset by the sudden rush of attention, nor the free beers that don’t leave his hand for the rest of the evening. The reasons to celebrate just keep piling up. 

When he finds Yachi again, she’s sitting at a table with Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. She’s laughing at something Yamaguchi must have said, looking happy as can be. A smile spreads across Hinata’s face, feeling kindred to the flutterings of true love she must be feeling too. 

He slides into the booth bench with this wide and knowing smile, cheeks hurting from how tightly he has the corners of his mouth hitched up. Yachi is smiling back at him, but in an almost concerned type of way. 

“Your face looks uglier than usual,” Tsukishima comments. 

“I know your secret,” he says to Yachi, ignoring Tsukishima’s words. 

Yachi gulps and immediately begins to stammer, “Wh-what are you talking about?” 

Yamaguchi nearly chokes on the nuts he had just tossed into his mouth, looking over at Hinata with wild eyes that he then flashes over to Yachi. It tells him everything he needs to know. He pats Yachi on the shoulder and leaves her there looking dumbstruck. 

“What was that about?” Kageyama asks when he makes his way back to him. 

“Oh, nothing,” Hinata says with a dreamy breath. 

He looks over to Kageyama and his expression shifts to a suggestive smolder. 

“You wanna get out of here?”

  
  


~*~*~

  
  


“Okay, but it’s like, whatever, we don’t actually have to do this, you know,” Hinata stammers out nervously, fidgeting with his hands in the front passenger seat of the rental car he and Kageyama had acquired for the day. 

“This was _ your _ idea,” Kageyama says slicingly, clearly just as nervous as he is. His hands grip the steering wheel even tighter. 

Kageyama having a driver’s license came as a shock to Hinata, who had never even considered getting one for himself. When Kageyama snidely remarked, “ _ What, you don’t have one? _ ” Hinata mentally added the task to a mental list of things he probably has somewhere mentally. 

For some reason, seeing him behind the wheel of a car strikes Hinata as a position of power and control; and it honestly turns him on quite a bit. 

The whole drive, Kageyama had found little reasons to touch Hinata while fiddling with temperature and volume controls, finally giving in and just placing his hand on Hinata’s thigh while the long country road stretched out before them. 

Now, the roads are getting shorter and more familiar to Hinata. His anxiety spikes further with every turn they make, the GPS intricately guiding them to Hinata’s childhood home. 

Hinata’s inner monologue of self-doubt is prattling on in his brain at a ramped up pace. 

_ Maybe I should have called first… Maybe I should have  _ come out _ to my family before just bringing home a boyfriend…  _

“I can introduce you as my boyfriend, right?” Hinata asks suddenly, currently unsure of every facet of his life. 

Kageyama scoffs, and Hinata can’t make out the emotion behind it. 

“What does that mean?” His speaking is getting faster with every question. 

Kageyama takes his eyes off of the road for a moment, looking over at him with a pursed grimace. His eyes are covered by the sunglasses he’s wearing, but even if they weren’t Hinata knows he’d have trouble reading them. It just kindles his anxiety even more. 

“Can you please say something?” Hinata’s voice is basically a squeak at this point. 

“ _ Yes _ , I’m your boyfriend,” Kageyama says with impatience. 

“Okay…” Hinata stares down at his fidgeting fingers for a moment before realizing he’s angry. He snaps, “How was I supposed to know that if we never talked about it?” 

Kageyama matches his energy, “You’re  _ literally _ taking me home to meet your mother… Or do you do that with all of your fuck buddies?” 

“What? No, I just… wanted to hear you say it before the first time it’s said is to my mom…” Hinata doesn’t want to fight with him, not right now. He tries to pad his words with patience. 

They’re in front of the house now, the morning light making it look stark and empty and foreboding. Kageyama let’s his arms fall loose against the steering wheel after he parks, a hefty sigh leaving his body. He takes his sunglasses off, his eyes solemnly closed as they’re revealed. When he finally opens them to look at Hinata, there isn’t a trace of hardness in them. 

“You’re right.”

“I am? I am.” Hinata is still caught off guard when this happens, and he’s not sure he’ll ever get used to it. 

A grin lifts one side of Kageyama’s face as he lets out a light chuckle. He looks almost courtly with his button up shirt, like he’s dressed to impress. Hinata is wearing an old hoodie and almost looks ratty in comparison, but he’s not focused on that. It’s the soft edges of Kageyama’s face that keep appearing with every smile that has him so enraptured. 

He can only watch as Kageyama leans over, gently brushing his cheek with his fingertips and giving him a soft and lingering kiss. He pulls away from Hinata’s face just slightly, eyes glinting as he asks, “Do we have an understanding?”

“Yeah,” Hinata responds breathlessly. “Still want more words though.” 

Kageyama makes a struggling noise, veins popping from his neck as his lips quiver into a twisted scowl. “F-fine. Can we just go in now?” 

“Yes,” Hinata replies determinately, finding his breath again as he lets out a calming sigh. 

“So why are you still sitting there and not getting out of the car?” 

“Oh, right.” Hinata jerks in response, opening the door quicker than he probably should. 

He doesn’t even consider knocking on this door, finding the worn down key to it easily on his keychain. The smell of breakfast is still clinging in the air as they make their way inside. 

“Hey guys,” Hinata elongates his syllables as he calls out to his family. 

“Shouyou?” A soft and surprised voice comes from around the corner.

“SHOUYOU!” A loud and excited voice booms from the second floor, the sound of loud thunking footsteps echoing on every stair step as Natsu comes flying down them with her tablet waving wildly in the air next to her. Her hair is up in a messy ponytail and she’s wearing one of Hinata’s old tee shirts. 

Hinata’s mother steps into the entryway, eyes flicking between him and Kageyama. 

“Who is this?” She asks kindly, reaching out to stop Natsu in her tracks before she flies straight into them. 

Hinata starts, “Oh, this is-”

“KAGEYAMA TOBIO!” Natsu finishes for him, her eyes sparkling with awe. 

Hinata starts again, “That’s right, and he’s-”

“Your  _ BOYFRIEND _ ,” Natsu finishes again, a sly grin creeping onto her face. Her teeth still have not quite grown all the way back in. 

“Natsu, will you please let me finish,” Hinata impatiently snaps at her. Then he registers what she said. “Wait, how did you know that?” 

Natsu waves her tablet in front of Hinata’s face; it’s covered in cracks, scratches, and sticky residue. On the screen, Hinata can still make out the article tagline clear as day. 

Kageyama Tobio leaving gay bar with MSBY Black Jackal’s #21 Hinata Shouyou

Of course, there is a million dollar photo to go along with the article title, as well as slander on Kageyama for “moving on so quickly from one bloke to the next” as if the writer of this article knows anything about it. 

“I have you on google alert,” Natsu explains, still grinning. “Plus I heard you guys pull up and I saw you smooching in the car.” 

“Take me off of whatever that is,” Hinata demands, passing back the tablet covered in pink and rainbow glitter stickers. 

“No!” Natsu runs off with the tablet, laughing hysterically. 

“Natsu!” 

Hinata sheds his shoes in place and chases after her through the short corridors of the first floor of the house, and as they round the staircase Natsu flings her way up the stairs with Hinata still on her tail. There’s no way she can outrun a professional athlete. By the time he finally pins her in the corner, she’s having fits of cackling laughter and heavy breathing, pleading, “please don’t hurt me, big brother!”

Hinata, who had never intentionally hurt Natsu in his life, reaches out and begins to tickle her until she cries in surrender, “Fine, I’ll do it, I’ll take you off it.” 

“Good,” he says authoritatively. It feels good being able to be the big brother again.

“You really kiss boys?” She asks as she swipes away her notifications. 

“Yes, I do. You saw it for yourself apparently.” Hinata can just imagine the wide eyed look on her face as she pressed it against the glass of the window. 

“Wow. What’s it like? Like a lot of boys? How many? Have you ever kissed a girl?” Her questions mush together with increasing speed. 

“Uh… It’s nice. None of your business, also none of your business, and yes but it wasn’t as nice.” Hinata answers every question in order. 

“Huh. Okay.” She looks expressively ponderous as she processes the information. She drops the expression into a smile. “Kageyama is a cutie, you’re so lucky. Did you know I have a poster of him? Do you think he’ll sign it?” 

Hinata suddenly remembers he had left Kageyama all alone with his mother during their first meeting, and says, “Uh, maybe, you can ask him…” as he makes his way back downstairs. 

Natsu still has her tablet glued to her hands as she keeps up with her brother, asking him, “Hey, have you heard of Roblox?” 

As she prattles on about the game, Hinata finds Kageyama and his mother at the kitchen table over some cups of tea. They seem to be chatting about something that gets interrupted by the Hinata siblings’ entrance. It makes Hinata feel a bit uneasy not knowing what they were talking about, but he takes a seat next to Kageyama anyway and confidently takes his hand. Kageyama gives it a squeeze while Hinata tries to gauge his mother’s reaction.

It’s not as though his mother had been outwardly homophobic at any point he could remember, but the subject just never came up naturally. Hinata could have brought it up at any point, sure… But the timing and reasoning just didn’t feel right. With Kageyama next to him, he has more reason than ever to be open and truthful with his mom. 

“You two make quite the handsome couple,” she says whimsically, eyes twinkling over her steaming tea. “I’m so glad you brought him over, Shouyou. Kageyama is such a gentleman.” 

Hinata’s eyes slide over to the man next to him incredulously, confused but pleased at the outcome. This guy? A gentleman? 

Natsu is sitting at the end of the table, her eyes zoned in and flashing the reflection of her tablet screen. She looks up for just a second to say, “I’m hungry.” 

“You just ate breakfast, Natsu…” Hinata’s mom looks back over to Kageyama and Hinata. “Are you two hungry?”

“Starving,” the both of them say in unison. 

She makes a quick batch of eggs on rice using the leftovers from their breakfast and it tastes like home to Hinata. They eat and talk, Natsu slurping her eggs up as greedily as Hinata does. Kageyama is respectful and polite, and even helps clean up the dishes with Hinata’s mother while Hinata and Natsu go outside to play. Maybe he’s just naturally good with parents. It’s the best day Hinata thinks he has ever had. 

As they’re driving away a couple of hours later, after refusing his mother’s offer to stay for the night, Hinata feels a rush of peace flow over him. The thing he had been the most anxious about had turned out to be nothing serious. A pattern he has noticed by this point, but doesn’t always help with avoiding it. 

Kageyama has his sunglasses on again, and his hand on Hinata’s thigh again too. Hinata feels as bright as the overhead sunshine, and Kageyama looks as cool as the autumn wind flying past the car. 

“So what did you and my mom talk about?” Hinata casually slides into the comfortable silence. 

“She said she thinks I’m the reason you stuck it out with volleyball like you did, and wanted to thank me.” 

“What makes her think that?” Hinata huffs. “And what makes her think you’re such a gentleman?”

“I told her that that wasn’t the case, and that in fact  _ you _ are the opponent that keeps  _ me _ going. And I thanked her for raising such an amazing son…” He looks over at Hinata with a sheepish grin. “I think she liked that part.” 

Hinata gapes slack jawed at him, not sure what to say over the lump forming in his throat.

“What?” Kageyama asks suspiciously. “You said you wanted more words.” 

“I did, I do,” Hinata says choked up, tears threatening to escape his eyes. “Thank you for saying that.”

“Ugh, don’t cry. Just tell me how to get to Yachi’s from here.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [To be continued...]
> 
> Next Time: Hinata is still confused and stupid as the TsukiYamaYachi throuple continue to be adorably in love on the sidelines of his life


End file.
